Low-carbon European diets

• 🇩🇪 Germany & AustriaPlant-based

  European Vegan

  Entirely plant-based and regionally sourced: European pulses, oats, rapeseed and seasonal produce rather than imported superfoods.

  Footprint1.6 kg CO₂e / day

  73% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Lupin & fava protein
  • · Oats
  • · Rapeseed oil
  • · Sauerkraut & ferments
  • · Local nuts

  Sparingly

  • · Air-freighted avocado
  • · Almond milk
  • · Imported soy

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  The lowest-footprint pattern here — but only when the substitutes are grown on the continent.

• 🇸🇪 EAT-Lancet, Norway & SwedenPlant-forward

  Planetary Health Plate

  Half the plate vegetables and fruit, the rest wholegrains, plant protein and modest amounts of dairy, poultry or fish — the reference diet for staying inside planetary boundaries.

  Footprint2.3 kg CO₂e / day

  62% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Legumes
  • · Nuts & seeds
  • · Wholegrains
  • · Vegetables
  • · Unsaturated plant oils

  Sparingly

  • · Red meat (≈14 g/day)
  • · Added sugar
  • · Starchy staples in excess

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  If adopted across the EU it would cut food-system emissions by roughly half against current averages.

• 🇳🇱 Netherlands & BelgiumIncludes animal products

  Flexitarian

  Meat becomes a condiment rather than the centre: two or three animal-protein meals a week, of higher welfare and better provenance.

  Footprint2.9 kg CO₂e / day

  52% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Pulses
  • · Tofu & tempeh
  • · Eggs from pasture flocks
  • · Seasonal veg

  Sparingly

  • · Daily meat
  • · Processed charcuterie
  • · Industrial dairy

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  The 'Donderdag Veggiedag' campaign in Ghent showed the easiest lever is frequency, not total abstinence.

• 🇩🇰 Denmark, Sweden, FinlandPlant-forward

  New Nordic

  Rye, barley, oats, root vegetables, cabbage, berries, rapeseed oil and wild-caught fish — built around what actually grows at latitude 56°N.

  Footprint3.0 kg CO₂e / day

  50% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Rye & barley
  • · Root vegetables
  • · Cabbage & kale
  • · Berries
  • · Herring & mackerel
  • · Rapeseed oil

  Sparingly

  • · Rice
  • · Greenhouse tomatoes in winter
  • · Pork in daily portions

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  Designed explicitly around regional, seasonal supply — its low footprint comes from short supply chains, not exotic substitutes.

• 🇮🇹 Greece, Italy, SpainPlant-forward

  Mediterranean

  Olive oil, pulses, wholegrains, vegetables and fruit at the centre; fish a few times a week, red meat rare and celebratory.

  Footprint3.2 kg CO₂e / day

  47% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Chickpeas & lentils
  • · Extra-virgin olive oil
  • · Wholegrain pasta & bread
  • · Seasonal vegetables
  • · Small oily fish

  Sparingly

  • · Beef & lamb
  • · Hard cheese in bulk
  • · Out-of-season imports

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  UNESCO-listed and repeatedly the best-evidenced pattern for both health and emissions in southern Europe.

• 🇵🇹 Galicia & northern PortugalIncludes animal products

  Southern Atlantic

  Potatoes, brassicas, chestnuts, bread and beans with sardines, mussels and octopus — a coastal pattern where protein comes from low-impact seafood.

  Footprint3.4 kg CO₂e / day

  43% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Sardines & mackerel
  • · Rope-grown mussels
  • · Caldo verde greens
  • · Chestnuts
  • · Broad beans

  Sparingly

  • · Prawns (trawled)
  • · Beef
  • · Long-haul white fish

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  Bivalves are among the lowest-carbon animal proteins on earth — roughly a twentieth of beef per gram of protein.

• 🇦🇹 Switzerland & AustriaIncludes animal products

  Seasonal Alpine

  Preserving, fermenting and cellaring instead of importing: root cellars, sauerkraut, dried fruit and mountain cheese through the winter months.

  Footprint3.6 kg CO₂e / day

  40% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Cellared roots
  • · Fermented cabbage
  • · Dried apples & plums
  • · Hay-milk cheese
  • · Spelt & rye

  Sparingly

  • · Heated-greenhouse salad
  • · Winter berries
  • · Air-freighted fruit

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  Heated greenhouse produce can carry ten times the emissions of the same vegetable grown in season.

• 🇮🇪 Ireland, Alps & WalesIncludes animal products

  Regenerative Omnivore

  For those who eat meat: pasture-raised on land that cannot grow crops, whole-carcass butchery, and less of it. Grazing on permanent grassland can hold carbon in the soil.

  Footprint4.1 kg CO₂e / day

  32% below the EU average

  On the plate

  • · Grass-fed offal & cheaper cuts
  • · Alpine hay-milk cheese
  • · Wild venison & game
  • · Mutton

  Sparingly

  • · Grain-finished beef
  • · Feedlot chicken
  • · Imported soy-fed pork

  Eco-friendly dishes to try

  Graded A (very low) → E (very high) per serving

  

  

  

  Higher than the plant-forward patterns, and honestly so — but far below the EU average of about 6 kg CO2e/day.

Figures are indicative daily food-intake footprints compiled from published European dietary life-cycle assessments. They vary with season, sourcing and portion size — treat them as direction, not measurement.