Whether it’s farm-to-table local produce or industrial scale operations, fine dining or fish fingers, everyone involved can contribute to improved food sustainability. Here are some statistics that show how the food and agriculture industries are getting gradually greener.
We update this content regularly to make sure it is as useful as possible. Sources for all statistics can be found at the bottom of the page.
4 key positive food sustainability facts
- Cutting global food waste in half could save 88.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions between 2020 and 2050.
- Organic food sales in the United States grew by over 380% between 2005 and 2023, from $50.54 billion to $63.8 billion.
- Over 70 percent of younger consumers have chosen a product based on its sustainable packaging.
- Microalgaes require just 2.5 m2 of land per kilogram of protein produced – up to 100 times less than beef and three times less than nuts.
Positive food waste statistics
- More than one third (36%) of consumers want food and beverage companies to limit their food waste.
- Reducing global food waste by 75% between 2020 and 20250 would reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by over 100 billion tons.
- More than 3 in 5 (61%) of EU agri-food businesses say they are actively working to minimize waste.
- 67% of UK citizens say they are making a conscious effort to reduce the amount of food they waste.
- 75% of UK citizens do not feel comfortable wasting food.
Positive organic and ethical food statistics
- The global ethical food market size is expected to grow to $182 billion by 2033, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% from 2024 to 2033.
- More than 96 million hectares of global agricultural land are managed organically by at least 4.5 million farmers.
- Global sales of organic food and drink reached almost €135 billion in 2022.
- Over 13 times more agricultural land in Europe was used to produce organic food in 2022 compared to in 1995 (18.5 million hectares vs. 1.4 million hectares)
- Retail sales of organic food in Europe totalled €53.1 billion in 2022.
- It is estimated that Americans will spend almost $13 billion on organic beverages in 2025.
- More than half (55%) of UK consumers are happy to pay more for ethical food products.
Positive statistics on food production emissions
- Production of nuts, potatoes, bananas, and peas result in some of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of food product.
- Producing nuts also creates just 0.26 kg of greenhouse gas emissions per 100 grams of protein (compared to 49.89kg for beef).
- Almost 60% of global food is transported by sea, which is by far the least polluting mode of transport, emitting around 50 times less greenhouse gasses than air transport.
- One fifth of agri-food businesses in the EU use predominantly renewable energy to power their production processes. 33% also say they are planning to implement predominantly renewable energy over the next two years.
- Over 30% of EU agri-food businesses have a concrete strategy in place to reduce their carbon footprint and become climate neutral or negative.
- In addition to significantly reducing emissions overall, transitioning to zero-emissions agricultural machinery could realize cost savings for farmers of $229 per ton of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions.
Positive sustainable packaging statistics
- 65% of agri-food businesses in the EU say they are actively working to save and reuse materials.
- Over one third (35%) of these businesses are switching to greener suppliers of materials.
Sources
The Business Research Company | Drawdown | Eurobarometer | FIBL | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems | McKinsey | Our World in Data | Statista | Wrap