In a world racing to cut carbon, India’s food systems are too often the quiet underbelly in climate strategy. Yet, they may hold the key to a more sustainable, just future.

1. A Blind Spot in India’s Climate Discourse

When India’s climate discussions surface in policy forums or international summits, the spotlight tends to fall on energy, transport, or industry. These sectors matter deeply, but food systems – encompassing production, processing, transport, consumption, and waste – remain largely overlooked. Globally, food systems account for almost one-third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within India, agriculture alone contributes 18–20% of emissions, and the true food system footprint is considerably larger.

Despite this, food rarely enters the climate agenda in a holistic sense. The reasons range from cultural sensitivities to fragmented governance, but unless this gap is addressed, India’s climate ambitions will remain incomplete.

2. The Scale of the Challenge

Feeding 1.3 Billion in a Warming World

India faces the daunting task of feeding over 1.3 billion people in an era of erratic monsoons, heatwaves, droughts, and floods. At the same time, dietary transitions are underway: rising incomes and urbanisation are shifting consumption toward meat, dairy, and processed foods – diets that often carry heavier environmental and health costs.

Emission Intensity of Diets

On average, Indian diets generate between 1.3 and 2.2 kg CO₂e per person per day, depending on income and dietary habits. Balanced vegetarian diets, still widespread in India, produce nearly half that amount. In contrast, meat-heavy diets (especially including mutton or beef) are significantly more carbon intensive.

Resource Use & Hidden Costs

India’s food systems place enormous pressure on land and water. Daily per capita water footprints average 2–3 cubic meters, and land use requirements range from 3.9 to 6 square meters. The FAO estimates the hidden annual costs of food systems in India at around US$1.25 trillion — nearly 10% of GDP — including healthcare expenses, productivity loss, and environmental damage.

3. More Than Farming: The Many Faces of India’s Food Systems

India is home to not one, but many food systems, broadly grouped into three categories:

• Production-based systems: subsistence agriculture and home-grown food in rural settings.
• Subsidy-based systems: shaped by government procurement and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• Market-based systems: urban and peri-urban reliance on purchased and processed food.

These diverse systems reveal stark inequalities. Calorie availability ranges from 2,158 to 3,530 kcal/day, yet malnutrition persists even in high-calorie settings, highlighting poor diet quality. Wealthier groups consume diets with higher carbon and water footprints, deepening inequities.

4. Farmers, Livelihoods, and Climate Risks

Agriculture remains the backbone of livelihoods for more than 40% of India’s workforce. Smallholders and women farmers face the greatest risks:

• Climate Stress: Droughts, floods, and heat waves undermine stability and yields.
• Livestock Dependency: Livestock provide crucial income, but are also a leading source of methane emissions.
• Water Scarcity: Diesel pumps, falling groundwater tables, and erratic monsoons strain irrigation access.

Addressing these challenges demands interventions that balance climate action with livelihood security:

• Sustainable Intensification: Higher yields with fewer inputs to cut carbon and water footprints.
• Diversification: Millets, pulses, fruits, and vegetables improve resilience, nutrition, and soil health.
• Empowering Women Farmers: Equal access to markets, credit, and climate-smart technologies can reduce gender gaps and strengthen productivity.

5. Why Food Systems Remain Silent in Policy

Food systems are political and cultural, and diets are deeply tied to identity. Several factors explain their absence in climate discourse:

• Policy legacy: Since the Green Revolution, policy has prioritised calorie availability over nutrition quality or ecological sustainability.
• Subsidy lock-ins: Rice and wheat dominate procurement and PDS supply, entrenching water- and carbon-intensive cropping.
• Fragmented governance: Agriculture, food, health, and environment lie across multiple ministries, complicating integration.
• Cultural sensitivities: Food choices intersect with religion and tradition, making dietary reforms delicate to frame.

6. The Way Forward: Reimagining India’s Food Systems

To integrate food systems into India’s climate agenda, a comprehensive approach is essential:

• Policy Reform: Reshape PDS to include climate-resilient crops like millets and pulses, aligning subsidies with nutrition and sustainability goals.
• Livestock Solutions: Better feed, manure management, and methane-reduction technologies.
• Agroecology & Regeneration: Crop diversification, organic inputs, soil health restoration, and reduced reliance on synthetic fertilisers.
• Reducing Food Waste: Investments in cold chains, storage, and awareness campaigns to cut post-harvest and consumer waste.
• Youth Engagement: Mobilise young voices to drive consumer shifts, innovation, and advocacy around sustainable diets.

7. India’s Vegetarian Advantage

India has a unique strength: its deep-rooted vegetarian and plant-forward traditions. Studies show that a balanced vegetarian diet in India emits around 0.72 kg CO₂e/day, compared with more than double that for non-vegetarian diets. While dairy contributes methane emissions, the overall footprint remains far below global averages.

This cultural foundation is a strategic climate asset. However, rising incomes and urbanisation are fuelling a dietary shift toward animal products and processed foods. Preserving and modernising traditional vegetarian diets, while making them more diverse and nutritious, could safeguard India’s advantage and align with global sustainable diet guidelines.

8. Conclusion: Putting Food Systems on the Climate Map

Ignoring food systems means neglecting almost 30% of climate emissions, as well as interconnected issues of nutrition, livelihoods, gender equity, and environmental justice. India cannot afford this blind spot.

By reforming policy, empowering farmers, investing in infrastructure, engaging youth, and embracing its cultural dietary strengths, India can lead the world in rethinking how we grow, consume, and value food. In doing so, food becomes not only sustenance, but a foundation for climate resilience and social equity.

References

• FAO. The State of Food and Agriculture 2023: Revealing the True Costs of Food. Rome: FAO, 2023.
• IPCC. Climate Change and Land: Special Report. Geneva: IPCC, 2019.
• National Communication (NATCOM) to UNFCCC. Government of India, 2022.
• Verma, Monika et al. “Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture in India.” Current Science, Vol. 110, 2016.
• Springmann, Marco et al. “Health and Climate Benefits of Dietary Change in India.” PNAS, Vol. 115, 2018.
• Mongabay India. India’s dietary guidelines have a relatively lower carbon footprint. 2021.
• ResearchGate. Carbon footprints of Indian food items. 2011.