Energy use in agriculture and food production receives a lot of attention, but non-energy related greenhouse gas emissions play a significant role in the carbon footprints of many food commodities. The non-energy emissions are typically nitrous oxide and methane generated by enteric fermentation in ruminants, manure management practices, nitrogen fertilizer applications in soils, crop residues, anaerobic decomposition in flooded rice fields, etc. Based on our recent LCA calculations, here are some typical numbers for a selection of food commodities from various parts of the world.
| Food commodity | % of non-energy GHG emissions (farm-level) in life-cycle carbon footprint @ farm gate |
| Beef | 94.44 |
| Lamb | 94.04 |
| Rice | 78.92 |
| Wheat | 59.34 |
| Barley | 51.90 |
| Spinach | 50.76 |
| Rape Seed | 50.46 |
| Rye | 49.44 |
| Oats | 49.36 |
| Sugar Beets | 46.82 |
| Corn | 41.49 |
| Cabbage | 38.69 |
| Potatoes | 35.41 |
| Broccoli | 33.82 |
| Brussels Sprouts | 33.15 |
| Red Beets | 33.13 |
| Onions | 32.80 |
| Cherries | 28.92 |
| Green Beans | 28.32 |
| Chicken | 25.48 |
| Apples | 24.24 |
| Tomatoes | 24.19 |
| Loose-leaf Lettuce | 23.12 |
| Oranges | 22.10 |
| Dry Beans | 21.75 |
| Table Grapes | 7.70 |
| Soybeans | 7.30 |
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