Fruit is one of the healthiest food groups, providing important nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, protein, and fiber. They are delicious too, useful as a quick snack and a popular ingredient in baked goods. But, the growing, picking, transporting, and packaging processes of fruit can create significant carbon emissions. Some are higher emitters than others, using more than their share of carbon to make it from farm to table. So, we had to ask: What are the fruits with the highest carbon footprints?

While it is well known that plant-based ingredients have lower carbon footprints than their animal-based counterparts, finding the vegetables that produce the most carbon emissions overall may not be as simple. So we had to ask: What are the 10 vegetables with the highest carbon footprints?

While it is well known that plant-based ingredients have lower carbon footprints than their animal-based counterparts, finding the vegetables that produce the fewest carbon emissions overall may not be as simple. So we had to ask: What are the 10 vegetables with the lowest carbon footprints?

Roasted, fried, boiled, or mashed, sweet potatoes are one of the more versatile vegetables, which is why the popularity of this crop has skyrocketed by over 40% in the last two decades. The US started growing sweet potatoes during WWII, but they were slowly fading from the American cookbook, until the popularity of sweet potato fries. However, much less is shared about the environmental impact, and especially the carbon emissions of sweet potatoes. So we had to ask: What is the carbon footprint of sweet potatoes?

Green onions are immature bulb onions, harvested before the bulb has had a chance to swell. Filled with vitamin C, K, and calcium, the green onion is a nutrient-rich food. This ingredient is commonly found in Asian cooking, such as in Chinese scallion pancakes, or Korean pa muchim, and is often used as a garnish, or seasoning, similar to garlic. Yet, much less is shared about the environmental impact, and especially the carbon emissions of green onions. So we had to ask: What is the carbon footprint of green onions?

The average American eats two pounds of garlic a year, and 14% of us put garlic on nearly everything we cook. Garlic has a host of health benefits and medicinal properties, and could help reduce cholesterol and heart disease. Furthermore, it contains antioxidants that may prevent the common cold, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Yet, much less is shared about the environmental impact, and especially the carbon emissions of garlic. So we had to ask: What is the carbon footprint of garlic?

Dates are a sweet, often dried delicacy that’s popular in Middle Eastern desserts. They also have an ever-increasing global market, reaching over a million tons in volume in 2021. In terms of health benefits, dates pack a good amount of protein, potassium, and fiber. However, there are many aspects to the date industry that can be very unethical and unsustainable. So, we had to ask: Is eating dates ethical and sustainable?

Pomegranates are a booming global business, valued at around $24 billion. They are especially popular as juices. Pomegranates are also a great source of antioxidants, fiber, and essential vitamins. However, there are many components of the pomegranate industry that can be very unethical and unsustainable. So, we had to ask: Is eating pomegranates ethical and sustainable?

Figs are a sweet, squishy fruit popular in Italian cuisine. They are also becoming increasingly popular in the US, with the fresh fig market valued at around $1.5 billion. However, there can be some very unethical and unsustainable aspects of the fig industry. So, we had to ask: Is eating figs ethical and sustainable?