food is an energy issue

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

Climate and the Food Cycle

Agricultural Production

Processing

Transportation

Retail

ConsumptionDisposal

Production•Fertilizer

•Livestock

•Tillage

•Crops

•Fuel

•Chemicals

•Irrigation

•Heat/cooling

•Electricity

Processing•Refrigeration

•Packaging

•Additives

•Electricity

•Heat/cooling

TransportationFrom field all the way to disposal – “Food Miles”

•Truck

•Ship

•Train

•Car

•Airplane

Retail•Refrigeration

•Packaging

•Heat/cooling

•Electricity

•Advertising

•Waste/disposal

Consumption•Transport

•Refrigeration

•Storage

•Waste/disposal

Disposal25%-30% of food in the U.S. is wasted•Methane release

•Landfill costs

•Incineration

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%

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

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

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

Local versus Imported

Local production reduces transport costs and GHG emissions…

…but less intensive production methods generally override reduced transportation GHG benefits

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

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

Thank You

Heather SchoonoverLocal Foods Program

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy(612) 870-3450

hschoonover@iatp.orgwww.iatp.org