What’s the carbon on your plate?

Some foods weigh a lot more on the planet than others. Pile up a plate, see what it adds up to, and find easy swaps that keep the flavour.

Build a plate Plan my diet

Not all protein is equal. Not even close.

The carbon behind different foods is vastly different. Here’s what it takes to get 20 g of protein from some everyday favourites.

Tap or hover a food to see its numbers. Protein: USDA FoodData Central. Carbon: global averages, farm to shop (Poore & Nemecek 2018). Beef here is from beef herds; beef from dairy herds is about a third as much. See the sources.

You don’t have to go all-or-nothing

Part-time changes add up to more than you’d think. Flick through, then flip a card to see the maths.

    More things that surprised us

      Diet averages are UK adults (Scarborough et al. 2023); food values are global averages. Where we did the maths ourselves, the card says so. How we work it out.

      Same protein, a fraction of the footprint

      Put a favourite head to head with a planet-friendly swap. Same protein, and often more fibre and iron to go with it.

      Nutrition: USDA FoodData Central, as-bought weights (dry for pulses). Carbon: global averages, farm to shop. Plants don’t provide vitamin B12, so eat fortified foods or take a supplement. Iron from plants is absorbed less well than iron from meat (vitamin C helps). See the sources.

      How it works

      1. Build a plate

        Drag foods onto a plate, or tap +. Every item shows its footprint and an A–E grade.

      2. Plan a typical day

        Set a daily target and see where it sits next to vegan, vegetarian and meat-eating diets.

      3. Take it with you

        Download your plan as a single page you can print, share or stick on the fridge.

      Nothing to sign up for

      Your plates and plans are saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere.

      Start with a plate