For most consumers, the story of food begins on a supermarket shelve and ends in the kitchen waste bin. Underpinning this lies a complex series of interlinked industrial activities that together comprise the global food system. Life cycle assessment is an ISO-standardized biophysical accounting framework used to inventory the material and energy flows and emissions associated with each stage of a product life cycle - from raw material extraction through primary production, processing, transportation, consumption and eventual recycling or disposal – and to translate these in terms of their contributions to macroscale environmental perturbations. It is widely used for assessing supply chain greenhouse gas emissions, and is increasingly applied to food system products and services. This presentation will present an overview of the key characteristics of food system greenhouse gas emissions, drawing on extensive public and private sector research and policy initiatives in the EU.