Design, Storytelling & Development by Robin Gringhuis
Every year, humanity consumes billions of tonnes of food. Some of it barely touches the atmosphere. Some makes it burn like a dying star. This is what that looks like.
Each point of light is one food product, grouped into constellations by category. The bright, coloured stars have full climate data. Hover over any star to explore.
In 1961, the world ate simply. Starchy roots and cereals dominated: high in calories, low in climate cost. Milk was already dominant, but poultry was barely a flicker. Beef was already there, strongly glowing red.
From 1961 to 2021, poultry explodes from a flicker to one of the dominant bodies. Vegetables and fruits bloom. Starchy roots quietly recede. Beef does not back down.
In 2021, beef left a footprint of 936 kg CO₂ per capita, by far the most of any food. That is a world total of almost 7.5 trillion kg CO₂, comparable to almost eight years of emissions from the entire global aviation industry (every commercial flight on Earth, combined). That glow is not light, but it is heat, warming up and damaging the entire galaxy.
The EAT-Lancet Commission described one potential, scientifically grounded path to 2050. Watch the galaxy cool. Red recedes, legumes bloom, rice quietly dims.
This future is not utopia, but it requires us to lock in like never before. It is one of the few scenarios where both people and planet thrive in 2050. The choices that get us there are not made at the dinner table alone. They are decisions made in boardrooms, parliaments, and supply chains.
The transition scenario shown from 2023 onward is based on the EAT-Lancet planetary health diet. This is a scientific framework, not a policy mandate. One of several possible futures, presented here to show what is within reach. Whether we reach it is a collective decision, not an individual one.
The world's leading resource on climate solutions, ranked by impact. Check out the food & agriculture section to see exactly which shifts move the needle most.
drawdown.org →The commission that produced the 2050 scenario in this visualisation. For policymakers, businesses, and researchers ready to act on the evidence. We already have the knowledge, our actions should follow.
eatforum.org →Explore the full dataset behind the CO₂ figures in this visualisation, as well as hundreds of other food system indicators, openly and freely.
ourworldindata.org →This visualisation is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Project Drawdown, EAT Forum, or Our World in Data.
Use the slider below to move
freely from 1961 to 2050.
Hover over any star to see
its consumption data.