The carbon footprint of cheese
Cheese emits about 20.967 kg CO₂e per kg. Below is where that figure actually comes from — every stage of the chain, not a single headline number.
Where the carbon comes from
- Farm
- 13.096 kg
- 62%
- Emissions on the farm itself — livestock methane, fertiliser, fuel, manure.
- Land Use Change
- 4.467 kg
- 21%
- Carbon released when forest or grassland is cleared to produce it.
- Feed
- 2.353 kg
- 11%
- Growing, processing and shipping the crops the animals eat.
- Processing
- 0.74 kg
- 4%
- Turning the raw product into food: milling, refining, slaughter, curing.
- Packaging
- 0.172 kg
- 1%
- Producing the packaging it reaches you in.
- Transport
- 0.139 kg
- 1%
- Moving it from farm to processor to shop.
Lower-carbon alternatives
Each emits less than half as much as cheese.
Similar products
Common questions
- How much CO2 does cheese produce?
- About 20.967 kg CO₂e per kg, measured across the supply chain. That is roughly the same as driving 123 km in an average petrol car.
- What drives the footprint of cheese?
- Farm is the largest contributor at 13.096 kg CO₂e, about 62% of the total. Transport is only 0.139 kg — which is why what you eat matters far more than how far it travelled.
- Where does this data come from?
- The WRAP UK Food & Drink Emission Factor Database v2.0, which aggregates peer-reviewed life-cycle assessments. This product's figures come from Clune et al. (2017).
Figures from the WRAP UK Food & Drink Emission Factor Database v2.0, which aggregates published life-cycle assessments; this product's data originates from Clune et al. (2017), for global. Real values vary by farm, region and method — treat these as the shape of the problem, not a measurement of any one item on your shelf.
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