About ⅓ of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is what the impact of global food consumption represents according to the figures revealed in this report published in 2019 by the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE).
This striking result was obtained by compiling several scientific studies on the subject. And by taking into account the entire food chain, from emissions generated by land conversion to food waste treatment, including agricultural production, processing, or distribution.
In 2019, at the initiative of the Energy and Environmental Prospective Engineering Club, several research centers, technical centers, and companies (ADEME, CIRED, CNRS, IDDRI, EDF…) worked on the CECAM project, energy and carbon content of household food. In their report, they estimated that greenhouse gas emissions from the food consumption of the French amounted to 163 million tonnes of CO2e, or 24% of the carbon footprint of French households. In a report published on January 25, 2024, the High Council for Climate assesses, for its part, the share of food in the overall carbon footprint of the French at 22%.
Needless to say, reducing GHG emissions related to food is a major challenge for the coming decades, in France and around the world. A major challenge and a highly sensitive issue.
First of all because food is the most essential good for populations and that satisfying this need within the limits of the planet must be a priority. Then, because emissions related to this sector are likely to increase significantly worldwide in the coming years. Given demographic forecasts and changes in dietary patterns, they could thus almost triple by 2050, according to this study published in 2018. Finally, because the food chain is both a cause, a victim, and a solution to climate change. A cause because of the emissions it generates. A victim because agriculture is today one of the main sectors affected by climate risks (droughts, extreme rains, floods, regulatory risks…), in France and around the world, leading to risks for farmers and the entire agri-food industry (cooperatives, processing industries, distribution). And a solution because the transformation of agriculture and the entire sector would make it possible to fight against global warming and protect the professionals of the sector.
What are the main emission items? What are the levers to succeed in reducing the carbon footprint of the sector? Solutions exist and many companies, some of which we support, have become aware of the urgency to act and are implementing ambitious strategies.
1. The main emission items of the food chain
First, let's start with this chart from the previously mentioned I4CE study and which allows us to have an overall view of the main GHG-emitting steps in food.
And this chart, from the CECAM study, on emissions from food in France:
1.1 Agricultural production
This is the first step but it is above all the one that is, and by far, the most emitting of the entire food chain. In both cases, whether it is the emissions from food worldwide or in France, this phase represents approximately ⅔ of total emissions. And this is quite understandable.
According to the latest report from the High Council for Climate, emissions from the agricultural sector reached 76.5 Mt CO2e, or 18.4% of total emissions in the country. This makes it the second most emitting sector, behind transport (32%) but ahead of industry (18%).
In the CECAM study, the authors also took into account other emissions such as those related to the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers and other indirect consumptions. They arrive at an estimate of 108 Mt CO2e.
The main emission items can be broken down as follows:
- Emissions from livestock
Methane (CH4) emissions represent between 45 and 55% (according to reports) of total greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. Now, these CH4 emissions come first from the enteric fermentation of livestock animals. Enteric fermentation is a natural digestion process in ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats) that allows food to be transformed into nutrients. This process emits methane which is then belched by the animals. A cow releases up to 600L of methane per day, compared to 60L for a sheep.
Effluents, i.e., animal excrements, also release methane. This is particularly true for effluents managed as litter manure.
This is all the more problematic as methane has a global warming potential 28 times higher than CO2, according to the latest data from the IPCC.
Conclusion: 55% of global livestock emissions come directly from livestock, via enteric fermentation and effluents. This also makes livestock the main contributor to agricultural emissions. And in very significant proportions.
According to official CITEPA data, taken up by the High Council for the Climate, livestock thus represents 60% of the sector's emissions.
But this proportion can rise. In the Ademe report, the authors chose to include in livestock the emissions related to enteric fermentation and effluents but also the emissions related to the fertilization of crops intended for animal feed: forage crops, cereals or even oleaginous by-products. Animal feed represents a significant part of livestock's carbon footprint. Result: meat and dairy products represent 85% of total agricultural production emissions! It's colossal.
Nothing illogical in reality since between meadows, forage crops, cereal crops, meat and dairy products mobilize more than 80% of French agricultural land.
Moreover, we talk about meat but we could be much more precise because the major impact comes from ruminants and especially beef with 83% of livestock emissions according to official data. Poultry, pork or sheep farming weigh little.
- Emissions from crops
Emissions from crops represent 27% of total agricultural sector emissions. And they are mainly linked to the use of mineral and organic fertilizers (manure, slurry, sludge, compost…) for soil cultivation. We are talking in particular about nitrogen fertilizers. They emit nitrous oxide (N2O), a powerful greenhouse gas whose global warming potential over 100 years is 265 times higher than CO2.
According to the IPCC, approximately 1% of the nitrogen spread is volatilized in the form of nitrous oxide.
Two other important sources of N2O emissions:
- soil leaching: part of the leached nitrates, especially during the winter period, are converted into nitrous oxide after a chemical reaction.
- Ammonia volatilization: part of the ammonia volatilized after the spreading of nitrogen fertilizers is redeposited on the soils and in turn converted into nitrous oxide.
According to the 2023 report on greenhouse gas and atmospheric pollutant emissions in France published by CITEPA, the interprofessional center for the study of atmospheric pollution, the agricultural sector is responsible for 87% of nitrous oxide emissions in France.
- Residual emissions from farms
These are, according to the CITEPA report, in particular the emissions from engines, motors and boilers in agriculture and therefore the emissions linked to the fuels used. They represent approximately 14% of total agricultural production emissions.
In the report published by ADEME in 2021, indirect emissions related for example to the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers and other inputs (phytosanitary products) were taken into account in these emissions. In this case, they reach 21% of the total emissions of the agricultural production sector.
1.2 Transports
In the CECAM study published in 2019, the authors estimated the emissions from the transport of goods generated by the food of all French households. Result, this phase represents 22.1 Mt CO2e, or approximately 13% of the carbon footprint of food in France.
The transport of goods would represent a traffic of just over 200 billion tonne-kilometers (t.km) per year.
Food produced abroad but imported into France for household or livestock feed consumption accounts for 77% of traffic but only 53% of emissions. This is explained by the mode of transport: the majority of imports arrive by sea transport, which is much less emitting than the plane obviously but also than road transport. Conversely, "Made in France" products represent 23% of traffic but 47% of emissions as they are transported by road. Road transport as a whole thus represents 83% of emissions from food product transport. The plane, on the other hand, represents only 0.5% of traffic but 5% of emissions.
Note that ⅓ of the total freight transport traffic concerns feed for livestock, notably oil cakes. And that this represents 19% of total transport emissions. This reinforces the weight of livestock farming in the carbon footprint of food. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, account for ¼ of total traffic.
1.3 Transformation of raw products
These are all the industries that operate downstream of agricultural production to transform raw products, knowing that there can be several levels of transformation. These products are then distributed for consumption.
This phase of food product transformation represents, according to the ADEME, a little more than 9 Mt CO2e, i.e. 5.5% of food emissions in France. It is the 3rd most emitting step.
The main direct emissions from processing industries are energy consumption associated with food transformation processes and cold systems for preservation.
1.4 Household transport for food product purchases
This is the 4th most emitting phase of the food chain with 8.5 Mt CO2e estimated, i.e. 5% of emissions from the entire food chain.
The authors of the CECAM report included trips made by households to buy food products and those made for out-of-home catering (cafés, restaurants…). For these two reasons, trips amount to 1360 kilometers per person and per year on average in France, mostly by car, with many distribution sites (supermarkets in particular) being located on the outskirts and often only accessible by car.
Out of the 1360 kilometers, 20% are for out-of-home meals.
Finally, last figure, out of the total energy consumption associated, more than 99% are fossil fuel-based.
1.5 Distribution: large distribution, shops and out-of-home catering
This step of distribution and out-of-home catering represents 4.7% of total food emissions in France, relatively equivalent to household travel for food purchases.
This step includes distribution sites (large distribution, wholesale trade, proximity trade) and out-of-home catering sites (cafés, restaurants but also catering sites in establishments open to the public such as schools, hospitals or retirement homes).
Note that for all these establishments, heating and cooking are the two main items of energy consumption and CO2e emissions with 78% of total emissions from the tertiary sector. Next come emissions from food cold storage.
Finally, last important element: considering only the energy consumption necessary for the preparation of a meal (cooking, appliances, food cold storage), a meal taken out of the home is 1.8 times more emitting than a meal taken at home. Considering the other energy consumptions (heating, lighting…), it is even 3 times more emitting.
1.6 Household consumption at home
This step represents 4.5% of total emissions.
Note that cooking (oven, hobs) is responsible for 75% of CO2e emissions from home food, the rest being electricity for other uses (cold/freezing, kitchen equipment and dishwasher).
1.7 Waste
In the 2019 report of the ADEME, the CNRS and the other actors of the CECAM project, food waste is not quantified as such and therefore does not appear in the emission items.
But the agency for ecological transition in France had already looked into the subject. In a groundbreaking study published in 2016, after analyzing losses sector by sector and at each stage of the food chain, the ADEME estimated that food waste in France represents each year 10 million annual tons lost, i.e. 150 kilos per person. The associated carbon impact is just as staggering: a little more than 15 million tonnes of CO2e. This represents nearly 10% of total emissions from the food chain, 3% of CO2e emissions in France.
This carbon impact was calculated by ADEME considering that it is necessary to produce in addition the equivalent of what is lost to meet consumption needs to the same extent. It should be added that the treatment of these food wastes represents emissions (transport, treatment) and that those which are in landfills or incinerated generate methane emissions.
2. How do these emissions translate into the carbon footprint of companies?
Sami has already accompanied about thirty companies in the agro-food sector: agricultural cooperatives, processing industries or even restaurants.
Here are some examples, all anonymized of course, carbon footprints carried out for these companies in order to illustrate the structure of their emissions.
2.1 Agricultural cooperative
Here is for example the carbon footprint of an important cooperative that we have been accompanying for several years and which is specialized in the purchase/resale of fruits and vegetables.
Not surprisingly, the main source of emissions is that of inputs, i.e. the agricultural products purchased by the cooperative from their partner farmers.
The second source is freight, as the activities of a cooperative require numerous trips upstream to transport agricultural products and downstream to transformation or distribution sites. In this specific case, all trips are made by road transport, notably with refrigerated trucks.
These two sources of emissions alone account for more than 90% of the company's emissions.
2.2 Agro-food industry companies
Two examples with two companies that we accompany.
The first is a company that markets vegetarian products.
Again, it is the inputs, i.e. agricultural raw materials, that represent the company's first source of emissions, with 50% of total emissions. Note that these are exclusively vegetarian products and therefore agricultural products that are nevertheless less emitting compared to products from livestock farming. It is also interesting to note that packaging is the second source of emissions (14%) and therefore a subject to be taken into account in action plans.
Second example with a well-known agro-food company in France.
Despite a much larger size and volumes than the previous company, we find a fairly equivalent structure of emissions with once again the predominance of agricultural raw materials in total emissions. Note that manufacturing is included in inputs but only accounts for 4% of the associated emissions. It is therefore the purchases of raw materials that weigh the most, and by far. Here, the weight of inputs even reaches three-quarters of the company's total emissions, with in particular significant purchases of agricultural products from livestock farming (dairy products). Packaging and freight complete the podium of the most emitting sources.
{{newsletter-blog-3}}
3. How to reduce the carbon footprint of the sector?
3.1 The greening of the offer, a key lever
As we saw at the beginning of this article, meat and milk represent 85% of the emissions of agricultural production which itself represents approximately two-thirds of the emissions of the food chain in France. In other words, there will be no major reduction in emissions from the agro-food sector without a decrease in the production and consumption of products from livestock farming.
"The only and only way to heavily decarbonize is to green your offer or your supplies. A restaurant that offers red meat can offer slightly less carbon-intensive red meat (more local meat, partnership with breeders who work on the feeding of cattle...) but low-carbon red meat does not exist. Same for a processing industry company that uses red meat as a raw material. So for this type of companies, we propose to evolve their long-term economic model."
Alexis Lepage, Sami consultant, expert in the agro-food sector.
In the CECAM project (Energy and carbon content of household food), the authors estimate that by "reducing meat and dairy consumption by about half in favor of an increase in plant-based food consumption, combined with more input-efficient agricultural practices and a reallocation of agricultural land", agricultural production emissions would be halved. Emissions from freight transport linked to imports would decrease by 25%.
"It is not about saying that everything should be stopped. But to diversify. The quantities of meat we consume today are far too high. A company that makes beef steaks also has an interest in sourcing legumes or cereals to make plant-based steaks."
Alexis Lepage
3.2 Eco-design of packaging
We can see in the aisles that packaging in the agro-food industry is omnipresent. And for processing companies, they are an important source of emissions, in addition to representing waste that sometimes does not end up in collection circuits and adds to plastic pollution, for example.
In our two examples, packaging represents 14 and nearly 11% of emissions, the second most important item each time. This is an even more important issue for companies that have already done a lot of work on the nature of raw materials. As these become less and less emissive (products from agroecology, vegetarian or vegan ranges), packaging takes on more weight in total emissions. This is where eco-design comes into play: eco-designed materials, recycled materials or even eventually moving towards zero packaging. Note that the issues around packaging are very high since, beyond eco-design, it is necessary to find packaging that meets health standards, properly protects the product or is compatible with certain cooking methods.
It is quite possible to analyze the emissions of a package via a life cycle analysis (LCA) of the product in order to then reduce its carbon footprint.
In terms of eco-design of products, another area of work for companies in the agro-food industry sector is to improve the energy efficiency of factories: less emitting machines, reducing emissions related to the cold system, recovering waste heat or thermal insulation of buildings. The expected gains in terms of emissions are lower than the vegetalization of the offer for example, but they are not anecdotal either: agro-food industries still represent 15% of energy consumption throughout the food chain.
Same recommendations or almost for the tertiary sector (large distribution, small shops, restaurants): thermal insulation, electrification of the energy mix; efficiency of cold systems. The tertiary sector represents 13% of energy consumption in the sector.
3.3 Transports
This is an important lever especially for cooperatives that have their own fleet of vehicles and for which freight is an important source of emissions. In our example mentioned previously, freight thus represented just over 40% of emissions.
For companies concerned, this will notably involve a change in the powertrain of vehicles: electrification, biogas and perhaps green hydrogen in the coming years or decades.
In terms of procurement, it is necessary to favor local suppliers, seasonal products. This is particularly the case for fruits as transport represents the first source of emissions in the carbon footprint of these products, which is not the case for vegetables or products from livestock.
3.4 Adapt
"If today we support a company by only talking about the mitigation aspect, i.e. reducing emissions, we are missing part of the subject. Not adapting at the same time is taking a huge risk because the food chain is extremely sensitive to climate risks."
Alexis Lepage
Agriculture is in fact one of the sectors most affected, already, by the consequences of climate change causing risks for the entire food chain. A few examples in recent years, noted in particular in the latest report of the High Council for the Climate:
- disruption of the crop cycle: with mild winters, buds are increasingly exposed to spring frost episodes. This is what happened from April 4 to 8, 2021 in France with considerable damage in vineyards, orchards or on cereal crops. The FNSEA estimated the damage at 2 billion euros.
- long-term decline in water resources in France, yet essential to agricultural activity (irrigation banned in 58 departments in August 2022).
- 10.5% drop in cereal harvests in France in 2022. Under the effect of drought, maize production was the lowest since 1990. Prices, meanwhile, have risen 49.2% in one year.
- decline in beet and potato harvests whose yields were also affected by drought.
Scientists thus estimate that since 1961, climate change has reduced the growth of total productivity of world agriculture by 21%.
This obviously doesn't just concern agricultural production in France. An example with cocoa. It is produced mostly in West Africa (75% of world production), particularly in Ivory Coast (45% of world production). The country is experiencing increasingly intense rains that cause flower drop and promote the spread of diseases. The El Nino phenomenon could also cause droughts in the first half of 2024. Bloomberg Intelligence thus anticipates a 10% drop in production next year. Cocoa prices, meanwhile, reached a historic high last October.
"Cocoa prices could explode again in the coming years. We therefore encourage our clients who use it as a raw material to diversify their sources of supply, to source from committed producers or to try to replace cocoa with other products. And this applies to many other raw materials. You need to find those that are the most resilient or risk putting your business in danger."
Alexis Lepage
This review of raw materials and sources of supply should also be an opportunity for the company to think about less carbon-intensive raw materials.
3.5 Regulation
The Climate and Resilience Act provides for the introduction on January 1, 2024 of an environmental display in the food sector. In concrete terms, this will be an environmental label placed on packaging that will inform consumers of the environmental impact of the product.
The deployment of environmental labeling will initially be on a voluntary basis before a likely mandatory implementation in 2025.
The calculation method for this "eco-score", as the government calls it, is not yet defined and is the subject of controversy since some NGOs fear in particular that the method chosen will not favor intensive agriculture.
4. Financing
4.1 Diag Decarbon'Action
This support offer is operated by Bpifrance and co-financed by the ADEME.
Diag Decarbon'Action allows:
- Measuring your greenhouse gas emissions
- Implementing a climate strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Support in implementing initial measures of the action plan.
Eligible are companies with fewer than 500 employees that have never carried out a carbon balance to date. Since July 1, 2024, after subsidy, the remaining cost for the company is 6000 euros.
And good news, Sami is one of the companies selected by BPI to carry out the carbon assessments and for the support.
{{newsletter-blog-3}}
4.2 Diag Eco-design
The Diag Eco-design is also operated by BPI and co-financed by Ademe.
Objective of the Diag Eco-design? Help companies improve the environmental performance of their products by funding a life cycle analysis (LCA) of one or more products, services or processes.
The Diag Eco-design allows:
- raise awareness about eco-design internally
- carry out an environmental assessment based on the LCA of the product or service studied
- identify eco-design levers
- co-build and cost the eco-design plan to be deployed in the company
Eligible are companies with fewer than 250 employees and with less than 50 million euros in turnover or a balance sheet of less than 43 million euros.
In this case, the price after subsidy is:
Once again, Sami is one of the companies referenced by BPI to carry out Diag Eco-designs.
And to find the main support measures for your low-carbon strategy, visit this article.
Conclusion
"An ambitious reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and protective adaptation require coordinated planning and investment that only a profound change in agro-food systems makes possible." This sentence is taken from the report published in January 2024 by the High Council for the Climate.
The High Council, always, estimates that a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector by 2050 is achievable, "provided it is accompanied by a reduction of at least 30% in the consumption of animal products and a shift towards other protein sources." This is a key lever for reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture in France, as is the reduction in the use of nitrogen fertilizers, the use of legumes, and practices that capture more carbon in the soil: permanent pastures, hedges, cover crops, and agroecological systems, particularly organic ones. In the scenario of a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050, agroecology and organic farming reach 50% of the agricultural area used.
Beyond agriculture, the entire food chain must mobilize. Again, the levers exist: reducing the energy consumption of agro-food industries, shortening logistics chains, electrifying transport, or offering consumers low-carbon and seasonal food. It will also be necessary to ensure that all food offerings (industries, large-scale distribution, collective catering) are themselves less rich in animal products to "avoid the efforts made at the level of livestock farming in France being canceled out by imports".
To achieve this, the High Council for the Climate recommends aligning agricultural policies with climate policies. The national strategic plan and the common agricultural policy are not "designed or sized to enable farmers and livestock farmers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change".
This will also require better financial support for farmers. And this obviously echoes the agricultural crisis and the multiple actions taken by farmers since the beginning of 2024, in France and in other European countries. Sustainable agriculture yes, but it must be supported. Financial resources must be reoriented towards low-carbon agricultural practices, the incomes of farmers who engage in more sustainable practices must be revalued.
It is by activating all these levers and with an overall approach - revaluation of incomes, agroecology, reduction of the consumption of animal products among others - that it will be possible to significantly reduce the emissions of the food chain while protecting farmers and professionals downstream from the major risk that climate change poses on this sector.
Mission Décarbonation
Don't miss the latest climate news and stay ahead of regulatory changes
Your carbon footprint with Sami
Sami accompanies you in measuring your carbon footprint and your climate strategy
Les commentaires