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Carbon footprint of tomatoes
Tomatoes has a footprint of about 1.4 kg CO2e per kilogram (140 g per 100 g). See how it compares and a lower-impact swap.
How tomatoes compares
At about 1.4 kg of CO2-equivalent per kilogram, tomatoes ranks 15 of 24 foods on this list, where number one is the highest-impact. That is roughly 3.5 times the footprint of the lowest-impact foods here, such as apples, citrus and root vegetables. It is lower than chicken (about 6 kg/kg).
A lower-impact swap
Field-grown, in-season tomatoes are much lower than heated-greenhouse ones.
Where it sits on the scale
| Food | Group | ≈ kg CO2e / kg |
|---|---|---|
| Cane sugar | Other | 3.0 |
| Bread & wheat | Staple | 1.4 |
| ➤ Tomatoes | Vegetable | 1.4 |
| Peas | Legume | 0.9 |
| Bananas | Fruit | 0.8 |
A median estimate that varies widely by farm and method — a guide, not a precise figure for a particular product.
Source: Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. (2018), Science 360, 987–992. · checked 2026-09-04
Frequently asked questions
What is the carbon footprint of tomatoes?
About 1.4 kg of CO2-equivalent per kilogram, or roughly 140 g per 100 g — a median estimate across the whole supply chain.
What is a lower-impact alternative to tomatoes?
Field-grown, in-season tomatoes are much lower than heated-greenhouse ones.
Track the food, mind the footprint
TempoLife logs what you eat and its nutrition — an easy place to try lower-impact swaps.