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Younger generations might like to think of themselves as eco-warriors, but a new study suggests they have some of the biggest food-related carbon footprints.
New research shows that Gen Alpha and Gen Z, aged 0-16 and 16-29, drive the highest climate emissions with their diets.
Globally, children and young people individually produce more food-related greenhouse gas emissions than any other age group.
Worryingly, these rising emissions are also linked to worsening diets, creating a 'dual crisis' of poor nutrition and accelerating climate change.
An international team of researchers analysed diets across 149 countries and 22 distinct age groups, using data collected between 2000 and 2019.
They found that Gen Alpha and Gen Z's climate-intensive diets were due to these groups eating more meat, dairy, processed foods, and sugary drinks.
Co-author Professor Yuli Shan, from the University of Birmingham, says this surprising finding challenges 'the dominant narrative that older populations are the most carbon-intensive consumers.'
Professor Shan adds that this 'prompts policymakers to face some tough challenges' in order to keep rising emissions under control.
Global food systems currently produce vast amounts of the greenhouse gases that are driving climate change, contributing about a third of the world's total emissions.
The emissions come from the widespread deforestation used to clear land for farming, methane released by cattle, the byproducts of synthetic fertilisers, and fuel needed to ship food around the world.
However, the researchers have found that various age groups contribute very differently to this total footprint.
As a group, elderly people aged 60 and over produce the most dietary greenhouse gas emissions.
Global dietary emissions rose by 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2 between 2000 and 2019, with seniors contributing over a quarter of that increase.
In high-income regions, such as Japan, the US, and western Europe, older adults now account for 22 to 29 per cent of total food-related emissions.
But this is not because seniors' diets are worse for the environment, but rather because the world's population of elderly people is rapidly growing.
The ageing population, especially in wealthy nations, has made this group the fastest-growing contributors to dietary emissions.
However, the diets of young people still produce more greenhouse gas emissions per capita than their elderly counterparts.
The researchers say that this is mainly being driven by an increase in the amount of animal products and meat, especially red meat, being eaten by young people.
Studies suggest that young people in Gen Alpha are more open to meat-free or 'flexitarian' diets.
In one study, nearly half of 1,000 young adults in the UK had considered giving up meat, while over 50 per cent of those people had actually ditched meat for some time.
However, globally, young people still tend to eat more meat than their older counterparts and the amounts they eat are increasing.
Research has shown that diets that are high in meat are associated with significantly higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based alternatives.
In a recent study, experts found eating just 100g of meat per day – less than a single burger – creates four times more greenhouse gases compared with a vegan diet.
The researchers found that the dietary impact of vegans on greenhouse gas emissions was just 25 per cent of that of high meat-eaters.
This means that Gen Alpha's meat-rich diet makes them far bigger polluters than older people who tend to eat fewer animal products.
In high-income countries, these changes are associated with poorer nutrition, but lower-income countries create a problematic complication.
Co-author Professor Klaus Hubacek, from the University of Groningen, said: 'In many low- and middle-income countries, increases in emissions have occurred alongside improvements in nutritional quality, meaning that simply reducing certain types of food may have unintended health effects.'
Likewise, a part of the emissions increase in low-income countries simply comes from young people eating more food.
The researchers say this creates a 'growing dilemma' for policymakers, namely, how to reduce emissions without undermining improvements in nutrition.
They suggest that policymakers should prioritise education and behavioural change, reforming school and youth food environments and balancing environmental considerations against nutritional needs.
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