food is an energy issue
TRANSCRIPT
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Food is an Energy Issue Getting to a Sustainable and Climate-Friendly
Food and Farming System
Heather Schoonover
CERTs Conference, February 11, 2009
St. Cloud, Minnesota
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Climate and the Food Cycle
Agricultural Production
Processing
Transportation
Retail
ConsumptionDisposal
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Production•Fertilizer
•Livestock
•Tillage
•Crops
•Fuel
•Chemicals
•Irrigation
•Heat/cooling
•Electricity
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Processing•Refrigeration
•Packaging
•Additives
•Electricity
•Heat/cooling
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TransportationFrom field all the way to disposal – “Food Miles”
•Truck
•Ship
•Train
•Car
•Airplane
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Retail•Refrigeration
•Packaging
•Heat/cooling
•Electricity
•Advertising
•Waste/disposal
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Consumption•Transport
•Refrigeration
•Storage
•Waste/disposal
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Disposal25%-30% of food in the U.S. is wasted•Methane release
•Landfill costs
•Incineration
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Breakdown of the Food System
From: Weber and Matthews (2008), Carlsson-Kanyama (2003), FCRN (2007), Dutilh (2004), Kramer et al (1999)
Production60%
Processing8%
Transportation7%
Consumption15%
Disposal10%
Production60%
Transportation7%
Processing8%
Consumption15%
Disposal10%
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Breakdown of the U.S. DietRed meat and dairy make up almost half of our dietary GHGs
Weber and Matthews (2008)Food is 13% of a household’s GHG impact
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Organic or Conventional?
Organic farming practices build soil organic matter but often utilize tillage which releases GHGs
Conventional no-till reduces soil GHG emissions, but generally depends upon chemical use for weed control and does little to build soil organic matter
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Grass or Grain?
Grass-fed beef and dairy products have lower GHG emissions than grain-fed beef and dairy products, but grazing reduces ability to capture methane from manure
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Local versus Imported
Local production reduces transport costs and GHG emissions…
…but less intensive production methods generally override reduced transportation GHG benefits
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How to Make the Biggest Impact• Avoid use of synthetic fertilizers• Reduce and compost/digest food waste • Shift from grain-fed to grass-fed meat
production • Manage manure: compost for fertilizer or
capture methane for power generation• Avoid irrigation and fossil fuels – look to
solar/wind/renewables for heat and energy • Reduce transport
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Climate and Food Resources
- Try Bon Appetit’s new food carbon footprint calculator.www.eatlowcarbon.org/Carbon-Calculator.html
-“Local Foods and Climate Change: An Annotated Resource” available now at www.iatp.org
-“Blueprint for a Climate Friendly Local Food System” available soon at www.iatp.org
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Thank You
Heather SchoonoverLocal Foods Program
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy(612) 870-3450