How we produce food matters as much for the climate as what we eat

By the numbers: In the study, published in the journal Science, researchers calculated the emission reductions that could be achieved through various changes to the food economy, both behavioral and technological.

• The biggest savings would come from a near-complete global switch to a plant-heavy diet, which would cut 750 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Reducing daily consumption to the appropriate number of calories by age — around 2,100 calories for most adults — would save 450 billion tons.
• More efficient farming would cut almost 600 billion tons.

• Engineering better-yielding crops through genetics would reduce some 210 billion tons.
• Vastly reducing food waste would save almost 400 billion tons.

How it works: Going halfway on all five of these recommendations — plus cuts to fossil fuels, an even bigger source of greenhouse gas emissions — should be enough to prevent the world from warming 2 C by 2100.

• While most experts consider it extremely unrealistic to expect a global move away from meat — especially when consumption continues to increase — mixing some behavioral changes with technological reforms seems more achievable.