green mondays 11-14-11

Sponsored by

Panelists:Jeanine DavisKeith CollinsTony McGaha

A New Look at Sustainable Food Systems

November 14, 2011

Moderator:Jack Britt

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Sustainability Institute

Sustainable food systems…to feed the billions.

• Intensification of agriculture

• Examples of improved sustainability in US food systems

• Examples of three different food systems

• Tomatoes and tomato products

• Milk and dairy products

• Beef and beef products

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“…the net effect of higher yields has avoided emissions of 590 Gt CO2e since 1961.”

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation by Agricultural IntensificationJennifer A. Burney, Steven J. Davis and David B. Lobella

Stanford University, Stanford, CA and Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, CA

Source: www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0914216107 published 2010

Intense agriculture reduced carbon footprint for feeding the world

GreaterThanLand Mass

Of Russia

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0914216107

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So how are we doing in the U.S. ?

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Farms and farmland in the United States, 2007

Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistical Service, USDA.http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/usv1.pdf

Ownership Type No. Farms % of Farms Acres % of Acres

Family or individual 1,906,335 86% 574,150,050 62%

Partnership 174,247 8% 161,416,999 18%

Corporation* 96,074 4% 125,319,200 14%

Other** 28,136 1% 61,208,981 7%

2,204,792 100% 922,095,230 100%*91% are family corporations **cooperative, estate, trust, institutional, etc.

Buncombe County has enough farmland to support a population of 31,600,based on U.S. average of 3 acres of farmland per person.

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/usv1.pdf

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Changes in land use in the United States 1982-2007U.S. Population Grew 30% During this Period

Source: Dale et al. Ecological Applications 24: 1039-1054, 2011.

-19%

+55%

-2% No change

+17%

+140%

-8%

CultivatedCropland

Rangeland Forest Land Non-cultivatedCropland

CRP Land PastureLand

Developed Land

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Examples of US Agriculture Rank Rank in World

Arable and permanent cropland 1Corn production, soybean production 1Milk yield per cow 1Tractors 1Meat production 2Fresh citrus 2Organic cropland 4Fertilizer use per hectare of cropland 40Pesticide use per hectare of cropland 43

How is the U.S. doing in production and sustainability?

Source: United Nations FAO most recent reports.

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US excels in sustainability measures: GHG production by dairy systems across regions of the world

Source: FAO 2010. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Dairy Sector - A Life Cycle Assessment

N A

mer

ica

C &

S A

mer

ica

W

Eur

ope

E E

urop

e

Rus

sian

Fed

N A

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a &

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sia

Sub

sar A

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a

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th A

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ania

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Item 1944 2007 Change, %

U.S. milk production, billion kg

53 84 +58%

Resources per billion kg of milkCows, thousands 415 94 -77%Feed, billion kg 8.3 1.9 -77%Manure, billion kg 7.9 1.9 -76%Carbon footprint, billion kg CO2

3.7 1.4 -62%

Improvements in on-farm measures of sustainability by the US dairy farms from 1944 to 2007

Source: Capper, J. L., R. A. Cady, and D. E. Bauman. 2009. The environmental impact of dairy production: 1944 compared with 2007. Journal of Animal Science doi:10.2527/jas.2009-1781

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Supermarket

Supermarket

Supermarket

Supermarket

Supermarket

Supermarket

Processing

DirectSales

Processing

ProcessingDistribution

Center

Distribution Center

Sustainability of Food System

Consumer

Farm

Farm

Farm

Farm

Farm

?

?

?

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Tomato Production and Products

Dr. Jeanine Davis

Associate Professor & Extension Specialist

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Cali

fornia

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Minneso

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Mary

land

Haw

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Miss

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Colorado

Wash

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Oklah

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Louisi

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New M

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West

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Iowa

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Kan

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Dakota

0

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Tomatoes, acres, 2007

85% of U.S. tomatoes are produced in two states

Americans eat about 20 pounds of tomatoes per person, per year. Three-quarters of that is in processed form,

e.g., ketchup, salsa, and sauce.

Where do all these tomatoes come from?• The U.S. produces about 2 million

tons of fresh market tomatoes and 12 million tons of processing tomatoes each year.

• We also import almost $900 million worth of tomatoes annually, mostly from Canada, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

• Florida and California and the major tomato producing states; comprising over 2/3 of all the tomatoes grown in the U.S.

• California produces 95% of the processing tomatoes.

Could we produce all the tomatoes we need within our own county?

• In Buncombe county, we would need to devote about 25% of our existing vegetable acreage to tomatoes.

• In Mecklenburg County, however, 6X the existing vegetable acreage in the county would be needed to provide for their population.

• To provide for all 9.5 million people in the state, we would only need 4,768 acres of tomatoes.

We could produce all the tomatoes we currently consume, but…

• For fresh-market tomatoes, it would cost us more, especially in the off-season, and we’d have to convince more farmers to grow them, but we could do it.

• For us to produce all the processed tomato products we consume would be much more difficult and costly;

• we would need to develop new varieties and production methods, build processing plants, etc.

So what does it cost for us, environmentally and socially, to

maintain the status quo, i.e., have just two states provide a ready supply of

cheap tomatoes?• Let’s focus on California processing tomato

production since that really is the giant in the industry.

Photo from GrowingProduce.com

Value-Chains for California tomatoes

Note how much of the path is oriented towards marketers and processors.

Graph from ‘A Value Chain Analysis of Selected California Crops’ by M. Lowe and G. Gereffi, Duke University, 2008

Water UseTomatoes are always irrigated and are mostly water, so expected this to be much higher!


Nitrogen fertilizer useFertilizer use is very high! Run-off, groundwater contamination, and fossil fuel consumption during manufacturing are big concerns.This could be reduced with conservation tillage, drip-irrigation, and new varieties.


What about ‘food miles’ and greenhouse gas emissions?

• Many studies have demonstrated that agricultural production accounts for the bulk of the food system's greenhouse gas emissions; 80% or more of emissions occur before the product even leaves the farm.

• In most cases, transportation plays a relatively minor role.

Photo from Western Farm Press

Overall environmental impacts• In 1998 the Swedish Institute for Food and

Biotechnology published a lifecycle analysis on tomato ketchup.

• “The results showed that it was the hidden (and thus largely ignored by consumers) aspects of the product – its processing as well as its primary and secondary packaging along the supply chain – that had the most devastating consequences for climate and the environment.”

Quote from Pat Thomas, Behind the Label: Tomato Ketchup, The Ecologist, 2010

What about social issues, such as how much are field workers paid?

Workers on large farms are usually paid less and there are many issues about the number of hours worked, pesticide exposure, and working and living conditions.

66.16.26.36.46.56.6

U.S. Dollars

per Hour

Tomato Farming Labor Wages (U.S. Dollars)

IndustrialFarmsLocal Farms

Graph from The Underlying Costs of Tomatoes, a report by Amanda Collins, Edgewood College, 2005

What is a sustainable tomato production system?

• There is no simple answer.• It’s not just “local” versus “industrialized”.• Lots of issues to consider and they are all

interconnected.• We’ve done a good job of raising awareness.• New studies will help us define what direction we

need to go.

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Milk and Dairy Products

Mr. Keith Collins

President, Milkco Inc.

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Calif

ornia:

New York:

Idah

o:

New M

exico:

Texas

:

Ohio:

Ariz

ona:

Verm

ont:

Florid

a:

Colorad

o:

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ouri:

Utah

:

Georgi

a:

Okla

homa:

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e:

North

Carolin

a:

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Dakota:

Louisia

na:

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issippi:

Arka

nsas:

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achusetts:

Alab

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West

Virginia:

Haw

aii:

Rhode Isl

and:

0

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Milk, Million Pounds

52% of U.S. milk is produced in 5

states

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Million LbsMilk Bottling Plants

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Milk and Dairy Products

Mr. Keith Collins

President, Milkco Inc.

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Beef Production and Products

Mr. Tony McGaha

Extension Agent, Agriculture, Haywood County

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Beef cows 1000 hd

53% of beef cows are in

8 states

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Cattle on feed, 1000 hd

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Supermarket

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FurtherProcessing

DirectSales

ValueAdded

PackerDistribution

Center

Distribution Center

Beef System from Farm to Consumer

Consumer

BackgroundStocker

Farm

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Farm

Farm

Cow-Calf

Feed

lot

Farm

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CAFO

CAFO

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Questions & Discussion

green mondays 11-14-11

Technology