Agriculture and Climate: The Critical Connection
The agricultural sector accounts for a substantial portion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Direct agriculture worldwide is responsible for 13.5 percent of GHG. In addition, deforestation accounts for another 17.4 percent of GHG, making agricultural activities accountable for almost 31 percent of GHG. This is of course substantial and a reason that agriculture needs to be part of the plan for reducing these emissions.
Jim Kleinschmit, Director of Rural Communities at the Institute for Trade and Agriculture Policy, reports on the multiple ways agriculture impacts and is impacted by climate change. He notes that achieving “climate-friendly” agriculture systems requires a shift in focus, research, and investment away from industrialized input and fossil-fuel dependent agricultural practices toward more resilient low-input systems that increase carbon sequestration in the soil and lessen output of greenhouse gases. Kleinschmit explains that the focus needs to be on the kinds of foods we produce and how we produce them because 50 to 83 percent of emissions are produced before food leaves the farm gate. Read Jim Kleinschmit's excellent 7 page report.
or you can listen to highlights on Jim's six minute YouTube on Agriculture and Climate Change.
Food Production Today Takes 20 Times as Much Fossil Fuel as 100 Years Ago
A 4 minute interview with Professor Michael Pollan also emphasizes the importance of the method of production for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He points out that 100 years ago it took 1 calorie of fossil fuel to produce two calories of food. Today in the U.S. it takes 10 calories of fossil fuel to produce 1 calorie of food. Michael Pollan is Director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, author, and critic of the global industrial food complex. Watch Professor Pollan's interview on
Local Organic Food Production and Climate Change
Director/Producer Robert Kenner reveals how highly subsidized commodities of wheat, corn, and soybeans and chicken, pork, and beef are produced by industrialized agriculture that is controlled by a few food conglomerates. While the system produces cheap food, Kenner shows the hidden costs which are very high. They include destruction of our environment, poisoning of our water supplies with chemicals and pesticides, and serious health problems, including 73,000 people suffering illness as a result of ecoli bacteria and a surge in obesity and diabetes. Six years in the making, the 100 minute film is available on DVD and can be viewed online:
