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Food

1 kg conventional tomatoes

1 kg tavanomaisia tomaatteja

7.1
Truecost score
Data confidence: HIGH

Carbon and water from best available meta-analyses (Poore & Nemecek, Mekonnen & Hoekstra). Toxicity is directional rather than precise.

Conventional tomatoes average 1.4 kg CO₂e/kg globally, ranging from 0.3 (open-field, warm) to 7+ (heated greenhouse, Northern Europe).

Did you know? A winter greenhouse tomato in Northern Europe can produce 10-20x more CO₂ than a summer Spanish one. Seasonality matters far more than organic vs. conventional.
Transparent calculation

How was this number determined?

The Truecost score is calculated from absolute physical values. Each row below shows the measured value, how it was normalized, and where it comes from.

Dimension Absolute value Score 100 = Normalized Weight Weighted Confidence
Carbon Emissions 1.4 kg CO₂e 9.5 kg CO₂e 14.74 ×0.35 5.16 HIGH
Water Consumption 214.0 liters 3840 liters 5.57 ×0.2 1.11 HIGH
Land Use 1.5 m²·year 51 m²·year 2.94 ×0.2 0.59 MEDIUM
Waste 0.05 kg 5 kg 1.0 ×0.15 0.15 LOW
Toxicity 1.5 µDALY 162 µDALY 0.93 ×0.1 0.09 LOW
Truecost score (weighted sum) 7.1

Share of your annual planetary budget

Carbon Emissions 0.15%
Water Consumption 0.06%
Land Use 0.03%
Waste 0.01%
Toxicity <0.01%
Source data by dimension

Where do the absolute values come from?

Carbon Emissions
HIGH
Poore & Nemecek (2018): tomatoes average 1.4 kg CO₂e/kg across all production systems globally. Includes farm operations, fertilizer production, transport, retail. Open-field in warm climate: 0.3-0.7 kg CO₂e/kg. Heated greenhouse in Northern Europe: 3-7 kg CO₂e/kg. Global weighted average: 1.4 kg CO₂e/kg.
  • Poore & Nemecek (2018): Reducing food's environmental impacts — Science 360(6392)
  • Our World in Data: Environmental Impacts of Food Production (based on Poore & Nemecek)

Massive variation by production system. Global average includes both cheap sun-grown tomatoes and energy-intensive heated greenhouses. European winter tomatoes can be 5-10x the summer average.

Water Consumption
HIGH
Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2011): global average tomato water footprint 214 L/kg total (108 L green + 63 L blue + 43 L grey). Grey water component reflects fertilizer/pesticide runoff dilution needs.
  • Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2011): The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops — Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 15

Well-established data from comprehensive global assessment. Blue water (irrigation) dominant in Mediterranean production.

Land Use
MEDIUM
Poore & Nemecek (2018): tomatoes use ~1.3-1.8 m²/kg for open-field conventional. Global average ~1.5 m²/kg including greenhouse (higher yield, less land) and open-field production.
  • Poore & Nemecek (2018): Reducing food's environmental impacts — Science 360(6392)

Greenhouse production has much higher yield per m² but higher energy cost. Open-field uses more land per kg.

Waste
LOW
Packaging ~30g, field losses and trim ~20g per kg retail. Standard supply chain losses.

Minor dimension for this item.

Toxicity
LOW
Tomatoes are among the 'dirty dozen' (high pesticide residue). Conventional production uses synthetic pesticides (chlorothalonil, metalaxyl) and fungicides. Farmworker exposure risk + consumer residue intake. Estimated 1.5 µDALY per kg based on typical pesticide load.
  • EWG (2024): Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce — Environmental Working Group
  • EFSA (2023): EU pesticide residue monitoring

Toxicity is the weakest dimension. Real but hard to quantify per kg. Tomatoes consistently rank high in pesticide residue surveys.

Comparisons

Methodology

Carbon from Poore & Nemecek (2018) Science meta-analysis of 38,700 farms. Water from Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2011) global crop water footprint assessment.

Sources