Dietary emissions vary by age

A study published in Nature Food on July 22, 2026, led by Yanxian Li (formerly at University of Groningen, now at Chongqing University) and co-authored by Yuli Shan (University of Birmingham), Klaus Hubacek (University of Groningen), Prajal Pradhan (University of Groningen), and others, analyzed dietary greenhouse gas emissions across 149 countries, 22 age groups, and five time periods from 2000 to 2019. The research found that adolescents (11-19) and young adults (20-29) have the highest per-capita dietary emissions globally, driven by meat, dairy, and processed food consumption. Meanwhile, seniors (60+) are the fastest-growing contributors to total dietary emissions, particularly in high-income countries like the United States, Japan, and Western Europe, due to population aging rather than more carbon-intensive diets. Global dietary emissions rose by 2.1 GtCO2e from 2000 to 2019, with seniors contributing 25.4% of the increase. In China, increased meat consumption drove emission growth, while in India, dairy products dominated. The study calls for age-sensitive and region-specific climate mitigation strategies rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.