Could consuming food, the very thing we do to survive, be harming the planet? According to a new database that tracks greenhouse gas emissions from food production to consumption, the answer is yes.
The database, EDGAR-FOOD, was created by researchers at the European Commission Joint Research Centre, and is being called the “first global food emission inventory.” It will give governments, policy makers, and companies emissions data to be able to identify areas of the food system that produce the most emissions and develop ways to reduce them.
Published in the journal Nature Food, the database findings include:
● 34% of all man-made GHG emissions are generated by food systems.
● Food generates about 2 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) per person annually.
● 71% of food system emissions come from the use of land for agriculture.
● 32% come from land use changes including deforestation and soil degradation (these activities released 5.7 gigatons of CO2e emissions globally in 2015).
● Packaging accounts for 5.4% of food system emissions.
● Production of paper and pulp for food packaging generates an average of 59.9 million tons of CO2e emissions per year.
● Food distribution and processing methods have become more energy intensive since the 1990s, even in the developing world where the use of mechanization and pesticides has grown rapidly.
● Emissions from the food retail sector tripled between 1990 and 2015 from increased demand for refrigeration to prevent food spoiling.
Looking at land use -- the largest source of emissions -- there are several approaches to address CO2e emissions while preserving land for nature.
In the developed world, the U.S. approach for the last 70 years is to use technologies – farm equipment and specialized seeds -- to increase production output without increasing the amount of land in use according to Professor of Agricultural Economics Thomas Hertel from Purdue University.
To keep farm land productive and healthy, the U.S. began a Conservation Reserve Program that allowed farmers to “rent” environmentally valuable land to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 10-15 years. Withdrawing these acres from production provides food and shelter for pollinators and wildlife, reduces erosion and improves water quality. However, the program is voluntary and when crop yield prices increase, farmers tend to farm the land they would otherwise “rent” to the government.
The Northern Europeans on the other hand, focus their efforts on land use conservation. According to Hertel, the EU requires farmers to set aside 5% of their land to protect the local ecology and provide long-term benefits to nature. Some land is farmed while other land is set aside to native plants, crops and animals and pollinators. This “rewilded” land fosters biodiversity while improving crop yields.
In the developing world, there are many examples of nature-based solutions to agriculture according to international non-profit GRAIN. These nature-based solutions focus on indigenous seeds, growing a variety of crops, plants, and trees, using natural fertilizers, and attracting insects and other wildlife to farmland.
● In Odisha, India, indigenous farmers use ecological practices to maintain climate resilient agrobiodiversity, allowing insects, pollinators, flies and birds to thrive on their farmlands. In a 2-hectare farm, over 80 varieties of seeds are planted.
● In the Philippines, small-scale farmers plant local indigenous seed varieties that grow quickly, resist dryness or survive in flood conditions. They do not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides and instead grow diversified crops and trees to reduce the risk of crop loss during floods and drought.
● In Cambodia, farmers are trained to adapt to climate change by selecting and planting short maturing rice varieties and to grow two crops per season in case of drought.
● In West Bengal, farmers use bio-diverse integrated farming models that combine at least 5-6 types of food crops, 10-12 types of vegetables, trees yielding food, fuel, and fodder, and medicinal plants. The farmers also use local organic fertilizers from biogas slurry.
Growing enough food for the world’s 8 billion people, while preserving land, nature, biodiversity, water, and reducing emissions throughout the food system remains a huge challenge.
If your company is involved in food production, processing or retail, SSC can help you become a more sustainable and resilient organization. Contact us today for a free consultation.