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Creating a Sustainable Food System with Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Creating a Sustainable Food System with Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Ben Senauer Professor of Applied Economics. < www.eatlow carbon.org>. US Food System Produces 20% of GHG Emissions. From farm to waste disposal. Majority is CO2 from processing & transportation.

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Creating a Sustainable Food System with Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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  1. Creating a Sustainable Food System with Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions Ben Senauer Professor of Applied Economics

  2. <www.eatlowcarbon.org>

  3. US Food System Produces 20% of GHG Emissions • From farm to waste disposal. • Majority is CO2 from processing & transportation. • Methane, mainly from ruminants and decomposition of food waste. • 23X the effect of CO2 on global warming. • Nitrous oxide, from nitrogen fertilizer. • 296X the effect of CO2.

  4. Global Food System • Responsible for 30% of GHG emissions. • Large Ag. sectors with smaller industrial and service sectors, and low household energy use, especially in developing countries. • Paddy rice cultivation is a major source of methane. • As fertilizer and other organic matter decompose under water (anaerobic).

  5. American Diet & GHG’s • Typical diet has large amounts of meat, processed food, and products shipped long distances. • Average food item travels 1,500 miles. • Typical diet produces as much or more GHG’s as driving an average mid-size car.

  6. continued • Typical American diet produces 2.8o tons of CO2 per year. • Various motor vehicles driven average number of miles (8,332 miles per year; 63% highway). • Prius: 1.19 tons of CO2 • Camry: 2.24 tons • Suburban: 4.76 tons.

  7. Energy Efficiency of Representative Foods* • Beef (grain feed) 6.4 • Tuna 5.8 • Milk 20.6 • Apples 110.0 • Potatoes 123.8 • Soybeans 415.0 • * Percentage of fossil fuel energy calories retrieved as edible calories

  8. Reducing GHG Emissioms from US Food System • Reduce the consumption of red meat, especially from grain-fed cattle, and dairy products. • Consume more foods grown locally and in season. • Eliminate bottled water or at least switch to locally bottled water. • Reduce food waste. • Eliminate any product that is shipped by air freight.

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