Vegetable yields and environmental impacts vary widely across types, production technologies, and global regions

Abstract

Vegetables are vital for sustainable and healthy diets, but their global environmental footprints remain unclear. This study quantitatively reviews the life-cycle environmental impacts of 13 major vegetables by synthesizing >100 studies. Vegetable yields and environmental impacts vary widely across types, production technologies, and global regions. Median yields and environmental impacts of the most productive vegetable types can exceed those of the least productive types by >40 times and >5 times, respectively (e.g., 356.0 vs. 8.4 t ha⁻¹; 0.86 vs. 0.17 kg CO₂e kg⁻¹). Compared with open-field systems, facility‑grown systems have generally much higher yields (e.g., +548 % for tomato) and lower blue water footprint (e.g., −75 % for lettuce) but higher carbon footprint (e.g., +273 % for tomato) due to energy-intensive operations. Reducing facility carbon footprint requires energy decarbonization and improved irrigation and nutrient management. On average, carbon footprint, blue water footprint, acidification, eutrophication, human toxicity, and land use per kg of vegetables produced are estimated at 0.52 kg CO₂e, 0.08 m³, 2.73 g SO₂e, 2.37 g PO₄³⁻e, 0.14 kg 1,4‑DCBe, and 0.17 m² a. These quantitative benchmarks can support region-specific mitigation prioritization and inform policy and industry decisions for lower-impact vegetable supply chains. Geograpically, the compiled data skew toward Europe, and in terms of environmental impacts, concentrate on carbon footprint, highlighting the need for more diverse regional coverage and inclusion of non-carbon footprints.