A monthly update on the Worldwatch Institute's Food and Agriculture program's latest publications, events, and research on environmental, food, and sustainable development topics.
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Featured Report
Higher temperatures and
unpredictable weather events are disrupting lifesustaining agriculture
in many parts of the world, derailing efforts to reduce hunger and
poverty in the world's poorest regions. By tapping into the
multitude of climate-friendly farming practices that already exist,
agriculture can continue to supply food for the human population, as
well as income for the world's 1.3 billion farmers.
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Food and Agriculture Internship
Click here to see how you can participate in an internship with Worldwatch's Food and Agriculture program.
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Dear Naresh, 
For agriculture to
contribute to sustainable global development, it must reduce its
dependence on non-renewable energy sources. Worldwide, agriculture
contributes between 14 and 30 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas
emissions, depending on the calculation. That's more than every car,
train, and plane in the global transportation sector.
The good news?
Agriculture can play a large role in reducing global fossil fuel
emissions: the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the
sector could mitigate its carbon dioxide emissions by 80 to 88 percent.
As we outlined in our recent report, Supporting Climate-Friendly Food Production,
farmers can reduce their emissions by adopting efficient irrigation
technologies, switching to low-carbon energy sources (e.g., wind- and
photovoltaic-powered pumps, solar dryers, and small hydro), reducing
chemical inputs, and minimizing post-harvest food loss.
In 2013, we will work
with our colleagues in Worldwatch's Climate and Energy Program to
encourage the adoption of energy-efficient farming practices and
renewable energy technologies in India, the world's second largest
agricultural producer. Today, Indian agriculture consumes a quarter of
the country's electricity and directly emits 334 million tons of carbon
dioxide annually. By raising awareness among farmers about
energy-efficient agricultural techniques and working with Indian social
entrepreneurs to increase farmers' market access to renewable
technologies, we hope to help shrink India's agricultural carbon
footprint.
If you know of any on-farm or small-scale renewable energy
projects that have helped farmers reduce their reliance on fossil fuels,
we would love to hear from you! Send us your comments to foodandag@worldwatch.org.
All the Best,
Laura Reynolds and Sophie Wenzlau
Food and Agriculture Program
Worldwatch Institute
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From the deadlock in the U.S. Farm Bill to enduring global drought, 2012 was an eventful year for food and agriculture. Although
agricultural issues might not be sexy, they are worth caring about. The
way we choose to grow, process, distribute, consume, and legislate on
behalf of food can affect everything from public health to greenhouse
gas emissions, global food availability, water quality, and the ability
of our food system to withstand climatic shocks. By familiarizing
ourselves with food issues, we can generate the action needed to move
our food system in a more sustainable direction.
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The
global mean temperature is now approximately 0.8 degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial levels, and it continues to rise. In a recent report
prepared for the World Bank, researchers with the Potsdam
Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics examine what
the world would look like if it warmed another 3.2 degrees Celsius. The
authors' warnings about projected impacts on agriculture are
particularly concerning given that, irrespective of climate change, a
growing human population is projected to put unprecedented strain on the
global food system.
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Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, produces roughly a quarter of
the U.S. natural gas supply. The practice uses pressurized fluid to
release trapped oil or natural gas from a well, and has been praised for lowering energy prices. But concerns about fracking's impacts on human health and the environment have led many to question its expansion.
Evidence of fracking's damaging impact on food production is
accumulating across the United States, including in the state of
Colorado, and concern is growing as it expands worldwide.
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In November 2012, Nourishing the Planet's Victoria Russo spoke with Larry Laverentz, a program manager with the Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program, about his efforts to educate and support refugee farmers in the United States.
Laverentz has been involved in agriculture for most of his life, from
growing up on a cattle farm to working as an agriculture volunteer in
Vietnam.
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In the recently released book, The Global Farms Race: Land Grabs, Agricultural Investment, and the Scramble for Food Security,
authors Michael Kugelman and Susan L. Levenstein are among the first to
examine the burgeoning and complex trend of land grabbing and its
implications for investors, host countries, and the world as a whole.
The authors note that these land transactions occur most frequently in
developing countries where governments lack transparency or
accountability. These countries attract investors with financial
incentives such as low taxes or inexpensive labor, but provide little
support for local populations that are displaced or otherwise negatively
affected by the land sales. As such, land grabs often become a "race to
the bottom" to attract wealthy investors.
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Food and Agriculture Program in the News
In Web and media coverage, our op-ed on the benefits of using renewable energy in agricultural production was published on RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Our research on land grabs was featured in the Inter Press Service, while our latest report, Supporting Climate-Friendly Food Production, was featured on Voice of America.
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