No single definitive ranking exists for brands with the absolute lowest environmental impact in 2025 or 2026, as assessments vary by sector, methodology, and metrics such as GHG emissions, water use, and waste. However, notable leaders recognized fo
At a given level of energy intake, diets with lower environmental impact contained higher amounts of plant-based foods and lower levels of animal-derived products.

Moving forward, it's essential to keep these visual contexts in mind when discussing Low Environmental Impact.
The best food options, i.e., nutritious with low environmental impact, are in the bottom left corner of the figure below, from the study by Clark, M. et al...

To reduce your environmental impact, choose products from companies who use resources responsibly and are committed to cutting their gas emissions and waste.

Foods with high environmental impact/low nutritional impact: cheese, chocolate, savory pies, and quiches.Lower-environmental impact pot pies: predominantly vegetarian or vegan.
Gepharts research has also informed Oceanas Save the Oceans, Feed the World initiative. Recently, she led a study that compared the environmental impact of various aquatic foods.
Crucially, the analysis shows that meat with the lowest environmental impact still creates more greenhouse gas emissions than growing vegetables and cereal crops in the least...