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Title : Environmental friendliness of food choices in the UK 

Abstract : Reducing food-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is critical to achieving climate goals—particularly as dietary change represents one of the most effective and low-cost mitigation levers available. Yet the design of policies to promote lower-carbon diets raises concerns about social equity, and little is known about who is most responsible for emissions—or most likely to reduce them. This paper combines detailed scanner data from the Kantar Worldpanel with product-level environmental data from SHARP-ID to analyze both the levels and the dynamics of household dietary carbon footprints in the UK from 2017 to 2022.  We find that emission reductions are not primarily driven by radical shifts between food groups (e.g., from meat to vegetables), but by within-category substitutions toward lower-carbon options—such as switching from beef to chicken. Emissions are systematically higher among older individuals, households with children, and those with higher dietary needs. Yet reductions are more likely among households that initially emit more, and among women, singles, and those with lower education levels. Our results have policy implications. They suggest that targeted instruments—such as taxes or subsidies—should focus on the most carbon-intensive foods, while accounting for socio-economic heterogeneity beyond income to avoid regressive effects. By identifying who emits, who reduces, and how, this paper helps inform more effective and equitable climate policies in the food sector.