Share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food in United States
United States: Share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food was 22.9% in 2015. ▲ Rising
Share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food in United States, 1990–2015
Source: Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2015, share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food in United States stood at 22.9%.
The figure is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food in United States peaked at 24.5% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 20.8%, in 1993.
That places United States 158th out of 217 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 20.8% | — |
| 1991 | 21.2% | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 21.1% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 20.8% | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 20.8% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 22.1% | +6.4% |
| 1996 | 21.2% | -4.2% |
| 1997 | 20.9% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 21.1% | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 21.5% | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 21.2% | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 21.4% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 22.2% | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 22.0% | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 23.0% | +4.7% |
| 2005 | 22.8% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 23.2% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 24.5% | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 23.2% | -5.5% |
| 2009 | 24.3% | +4.8% |
| 2010 | 23.5% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 23.1% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 22.7% | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 22.3% | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 22.4% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 22.9% | +2.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 22.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 24.5%, 93% of the median. (77 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 21.1% | 20.8% | 22.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.8% | 21.2% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.8% | 22.3% | 23.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More climate change data for United States
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 274,482 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60,922 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 213,560 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 229.89 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 7,627 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 107,381 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 89,068 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 18,313 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 336.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 654.05 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food in United States?
- Share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food in United States was 22.9% in 2015, according to Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 24.5% in 2007.
- What is the lowest share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.8% in 1993.
- How does United States rank for share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food?
- United States ranks 158th out of 217 countries with data for 2015.
- Is share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of national greenhouse gas emissions that come from food. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Food system emissions include agriculture, land-use change, and supply chain emissions (transport, packaging, food processing, retail, cooking, and waste). Emissions are quantified based on food production, not consumption. This means they do not account for international trade.