We often hear that we should fly less, take shorter showers, or switch to electric cars. But did you know that one of the strongest — and tastiest — weapons in the fight against climate change is literally in your fork?

DID YOU KNOW? Global food production is responsible for roughly 26% of greenhouse gas emissions! In other words, what we eat has a huge influence on our planet’s future.¹

Which food is the biggest “smokestack”?

Every food has a so-called carbon footprint. This is the number that shows how many harmful emissions (for example carbon dioxide and methane) were released into the air while that food traveled from the farm to your plate. And here’s the twist: not all foods are equal.

Animal-based foods — especially beef and lamb — come with a massive ecological “backpack.” Why? Because cattle need a lot of land, water, and feed, and during digestion they burp methane into the atmosphere — a very powerful greenhouse gas.²

DID YOU KNOW? Producing a single conventional fast‑food beef burger (such as a Big Mac) is associated with about 2.35 kg of CO₂ emissions. That’s like getting into an average petrol car and driving 12.6 km!³ In contrast, a plant‑based (meat‑free) burger generates only about 0.12 kg of CO₂ — a tiny fraction of the beef version.³

Is food that comes from far away really worse?

A common myth is that the most eco‑friendly food is the one grown on the next street. While shopping at local markets is great, the reality is that transport typically makes up only around 5% of a food’s total footprint.⁴

So what you eat usually matters far more than where it came from. Even an avocado shipped from Mexico to Europe can have a much smaller footprint than the meat from a locally raised cow that required huge resources.⁴

DID YOU KNOW? The average personal carbon footprint in Hungary is about 5.7 tonnes per year.⁵ If you cut out red meat and dairy for just one day a week, you can do as much good for the planet as if you avoided eating anything that was transported from far away!⁶

Hungarian flavours — greener!

Love Hungarian food but also want to look after the Earth? You don’t have to give up grandma’s cooking. Hungarian cuisine is full of “hidden gems” that fit perfectly into a low‑carbon lifestyle.

Take lecsó, a summer favourite. This thick, pepper‑and‑tomato stew is naturally a fully vegan, climate‑friendly dish!⁷ Or think about the classic pörkölt: if you swap beef for mushrooms or chickpeas, the rich sauce and paprika flavour stay basically the same, but the climate impact drops dramatically.⁸

The invisible enemy: the trash bin

Saving the planet isn’t only about what you put in your shopping basket — it’s also about what you don’t throw away. Worldwide, about 17% of food produced ends up in the bin.² When you toss a wilted apple or yesterday’s leftovers, you’re not only throwing away food, but also all the water, energy, and work that went into producing and transporting it.²

DID YOU KNOW? If global food waste were a country, it would be the third‑largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world after the USA and China. It causes almost five times as much pollution as the entire aviation sector!²

What can you do? (And your teachers, too!)

The fight against climate change can start at school:

1. Less can be more: Not everyone has to become vegan, but if your school cafeteria introduces just one fully plant‑based day out of five “meat days,” you could reduce the footprint of your meals by more than 30%!⁹
2. Save the leftovers: Together with teachers, you can organise a “food‑waste audit” in the cafeteria and measure how much food ends up in the bin. It’s a great way to make the problem visible.
3. Experiment! Put together a class cooking session where you make traditional Hungarian dishes in climate‑friendly versions (for example chickpea pörkölt).

Saving the planet has never been this tasty. Enjoy your meal — and enjoy making a difference!

Works Cited

1. Environmental Impacts of Food Production – Our World in Data – Scribd. Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://www.scribd.com/document/979915392/Environmental-Impacts-of-Food-Production-Our-World-in-Data
2. Food and Climate Change: Healthy diets for a healthier planet. Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/food
3. A Big Mac’s Carbon Footprint Is Equal To Driving A Car Nearly 8. Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://plantbasednews.org/news/environment/big-mac-carbon-footprint/
4. Environmental Impacts of Food Production – Our World in Data. Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food
5. Carbon footprint – Wikipedia (HU). Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karbonl%C3%A1bnyom
6. The Carbon Footprint of Food | Climateq. Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://www.climateq.co.uk/resources/the-carbon-footprint-of-food/
7. Lecso Recipe: Traditional Hungarian Stew. Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://eminenceorganicfarm.com/lecso-recipe-traditional-hungarian-stew/
8. Vegetarian recipes (HU) – recipe index. Accessed: February 23, 2026. http://vegetarianusreceptek.hu/recept/szam/osszes
9. The Carbon Footprint of School Lunch: Moving Toward a Healthy… Accessed: February 23, 2026. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/2955