Eating Less Red Meat, Reducing Food Waste Would Reduce Agricultural CO2 Emissions

April 27, 2014

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online

Reducing global red meat consumption and reducing food waste could drastically reduce the annual amount of carbon emissions from the worldwide agriculture industry, according to a new report released Friday by Climate Focus and California Environmental Associates.

The report, entitled Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change in Agriculture, entailed the review and synthesis of a vast array of different literature on agriculture and climate change (including some unpublished data). The result of that analysis was the development of 12 key strategies intended to eliminate agriculture’s climate footprint, the organizations behind the study said in a statement.

According to the report’s findings, changes to procedures in Brazil, China, the European Union and the US could have the greatest impact on global emission levels. The authors stress that the role consumption plays in producing food-related emissions is often overlooked, and that by changing diets and cutting back on food waste levels in key nations could eliminate over three gigatons of CO2 production each year.

“By reducing the climate impact of the food we eat, we can improve our health and the health of the planet,” explained study co-author and Climate Focus Director Dr. Charlotte Streck. “By making the way we produce food more efficient, farmers can reap the benefits of increased production while decreasing the environmental impacts of farming.”

“The energy and transport sectors have seen a significant growth in innovation needed to ensure the long term sustainability of the sectors. It is time that agriculture followed,” she added. “There are so many ways in which policymakers can help farmers boost productivity while mitigating climate change. We need to dispel the notion, once and for all, that productivity and sustainability can’t work hand in hand.”

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