In the process of cutting our carbon footprint, we still want to treat ourselves to nice things like takeaways. Indian and Chinese cuisine are amongst the most popular options in the world for a takeaway. How can we reduce carbon emissions when ordering an Indian or Chinese takeout?

Indian takeaways and carbon emissions

Research by Professor Berners-Lee book ‘How Bad are Bananas?’ shows how the carbon footprint changes as you add different ingredients to an Indian dish. As with all meals, curries with meat and in particular beef and lamb, are going to have a higher carbon footprint. Research suggests the best things to order from the menu are the veggie curries. Below is a breakdown of the carbon emissions from different types of curries:

A veggie curry                           1.3kg CO₂e

A chicken curry                        2.1kg CO₂e

A lamb curry                              4kg CO₂e

A king prawn curry                5.1kg CO₂e

(CO₂e represents to amount of carbon emissions produced)

The research shows that the increase in carbon emissions changes considerably when you add meat. You can also see how bad lamb is in comparison to chicken because substituting chicken for lamb doubles the amounts of emissions of a meal. Beef and lamb always have a much higher carbon footprint than other meats because cattle and lamb are ruminant animals. This means they have a digestive system that produces a lot of methane in the process of digesting food. Methane is one of main greenhouse gases warming up the earth and significantly contributing to global warming, so cutting down red meat is really important.

King prawns have a very high carbon footprint because they are airfreighted (transported by plane) and are often farmed in South Asia which involves destroying important mangrove plantations. Mangroves are considered ‘the rainforest of the ocean’ which provide an ecosystem for many animals, boost food security and protect against extreme weather and natural disasters. If you really want order meat from an Indian takeaway, try to stick to chicken, pork or fish (except King prawns) to keep carbon emissions down.

Side dishes and food waste

If you are wondering whether a naan or rice is better for the environment, according to the assumptions made by Berners-Lee, a typical naan has 0.12kg CO₂e and 90g rice has 0.3kg CO₂e. This suggests ordering naan is better, but both figures are so low that it does not make much difference to the whole meal. Another factor that makes a big difference to the carbon footprint of an Indian takeaway is the amount of food waste generated from the meal. So be careful not to order too much food and you will save money and carbon emissions.

A Chinese takeaway

A Chinese takeaway is one of the most popular takeaways around the world. How can we lower the carbon footprint of a Chinese takeaway? Research published in Carbon Footprints Journal (2026) calculated the carbon footprint of the most popular Chinese dishes across the globe:

Beef chow Fun                                        3.1 kg CO2e

Char Siu                                                     2.1 kg CO2e

Ma Po Tofu                                                1.8 kg CO2e

Twice-cooked pork slices                 1.4 kg CO2e

Moo Shu Pork                                          1.2 kg CO2e

Sweet and sour pork                            1.1 kg CO2e

Gulou Yuk                                                 1.1 kg CO2e

 Shredded pork                                      1 kg CO2e

Har gow                                                      0.7 kg CO2e

Kung po chicken                                    0.6 kg CO2e

The carbon footprint of Chinese meals shows that dishes with beef in it will always have a higher carbon footprint, which is why beef chow fun is at the top of the table. Kung po chicken has the lowest carbon footprint because chicken has lower emissions than pork. Ma po tofu has minced pork in it despite that the name of the dish suggests it is vegetarian.

Does it make much difference if you order noodles or rice as a side dish? Noodles and rice both have a low carbon footprint so take your pick. Rice may have a higher carbon footprint than noodles, but neither rice or noodles add much to the total carbon footprint of the whole meal. If you want to cut the carbon emissions of a Chinese takeaway, avoid beef and it is better to choose chicken dishes over pork dishes. Vegetarian options are better than non-vegetarian options when it comes to Chinese cuisine. Chinese vegetarian meals rarely contain dairy, such as cheese, milk and cream which can have a big impact of increasing carbon emissions.

Sources:

How Bad are Bananas? (2020) by Professor Bernes-Lee

Carbon footprint and nutrition estimation of Chinese eight cuisines by Guan, A., Cai, Z., Zhou, Y., Chen, M., Zhou, Y. Carbon Footprints 2026, 5,38.