Climate change and agriculture – time for a new deal?

As negotiators gather in Copenhagen to hammer out a deal on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, farming is in the spotlight as never before.

In the latest edition of the Food Ethics magazine, contributors assess the effects of climate change on agriculture, and analyse how agriculture affects global warming.

As a sector, agriculture is responsible for about 30% of total global GHG emissions. These emissions are produced by:

• fossil fuel use
• flattening forests to grow food
• releasing the CO2 trapped in soil and
• livestock.

But agriculture has a huge potential to create GHG savings. Restocking soil with just a fraction of the carbon content we’ve stripped from it in recent decades could make a significant cut in GHG emissions.

Negotiators at Copenhagen suggest that farmers should be paid to sequester carbon in the soil. This is an extension of the REDD ((Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) scheme, which protects forests by putting a price on carbon saved by not chopping them down.

But there’s no guarantee that farmers would be either willing or able to participate in carbon trading, and research has shown that REDD has little long-, or even medium-term benefits for subsistence farmers or foresters.

Dr. Tom MacMillan, executive director of the Food Ethics Council says:

“Farmers have always been weather watchers; now they’re the ones under scrutiny. What comes out of Copenhagen will affect farmers, but whether it will benefit them is open to question.
“Everyone agrees we need to cut carbon emissions. But carbon trading is no silver bullet – it favours the larger players in agriculture, including multinational companies and governments, not small-scale farmers.

“Government policies on agriculture and climate that take the needs of the world’s poor into account, and a global commitment to promote sustainable consumption are key.”

Contributors to Food Ethics include Peter Kendall, president of the NFU, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri chair of the IPCC, Vandana Shiva and many more. They discuss the best outcomes for agriculture at Copenhagen, livestock consumption and climate change, the relative carbon footprints of different vegetables, and how farmers, food businesses and retailers are adapting to climate change.

Notes to editors

1. The Food Ethics Council works towards a food system that is fair and healthy for people and the environment.

2. Food Ethics magazine is published quarterly, delivering up-to-date analysis on topical subjects relevant to food and farming. Attracting top quality contributors, it is essential reading for everyone involved in food businesses, government policy or campaigning organisations, journalists and anybody interested in the food system.

3. Previous magazines have highlighted issues surrounding waste, GM food, meat and livestock, workers’ rights, the catering and food retail industries, and the food crisis.