Big Picture Views
Mitigation: Cool Foods as a Climate Solution
Adaptation: Ensuring Food and Energy Security
Water Links to Food and Climate
Views from the South
United States Legislation
Organic Crops and Food
Biotechnology
The Climate, Food, Agriculture & Energy
Forestry and REDD
Big Picture Views
A New Approach to Estimate Emissions of Nitrous Oxide from Agriculture and Its Implications to the Global Nitrous Oxide Budget
By A. Mosier and C. Koreze. IGACtivities Newsletter No. 12, March 1998
ActionAID
Food, Farmers and Fuel: Balancing Global Grain and Energy Policies with Sustainable Land Use. 2008.
Carnegie Mellon University
Christopher L. Weber and H. Scott Matthews. Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States. March 2008.
Center for Global Development
William R. Cline. Global Warming and Agriculture: Impact Estimates by Country. September 2007.
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Michael Jacobson. Six Arguments for a Greener Diet. 2006.
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Mike Tidwell. Food and the Climate Crisis: What You Eat Affects the Sky.
City University London
Tim Lang. Food Security or Food Democracy? In Pesticides News 78, December 2007.
Climatic Change
R. Rotter and S.C. van de Geijn. Climate Change Effects on Plant Growth, Crop Yield and Livestock. In Climatic Change, December 1999.
Climatic Change
D.T. Patterson, J.K. Westbrook, R.J.V. Joyce, P.D. Lingren, and J. Rogasik. Weeds, Insects, and Diseases. In Climatic Change, December 1999.
Columbia University
Robert L. Tate, III. Climate Change and the Global Harvest. Potential Impacts of the Greenhouse Effect on Agriculture. In Soil Science, March 1999.
Columbia University Law School – Human Rights Institute
Elisabeth Caesens and Maritere Padilla Rodriguez. Climate Change and the Right to Food: A Comprehensive Study. 2009.
Cool Foods Campaign: A series of fact sheets published by the Cool Foods Campaign covering the climate effects as a result of various facets of food systems.
Is Industrial Agriculture Cooking the Planet? details how large-scale modernized industrial farms rely heavily on fossil fuels-intensive practices, and are major contributors of GHGs. Pesticide and fertilizer production and application, irrigation, lighting, transportation, and other machinery are powered by GHG-emitting fossil fuels. The production of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides alone require the equivalent use of over 123 million barrels of oil, making them one of the largest contributors to GHG emissions in agriculture.
PDF Available Here
From Field to Feedlot to Fork documents the impact that animal agriculture has on climate change. Animal production accounts for 18 percent of global GHG emissions (in terms of CO2 equivalent), due mainly to nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions from waste management practices and enteric fermentation. Informed dietary choices, such as switching to a vegetarian diet or eating only animal products produced under organic and grass-fed standards, support food systems that produce fewer GHGs and contribute less to climate change, reducing an individual’s carbon “foodprint.”
PDF Available Here
Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR)
Available Here
Congressional Research Service
Renee Johnson. Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector and Congressional Action. June 2009.
Consequences
Cynthia Rosenzweig and Daniel Hillel. Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture and Food Supply. In Consequences, Summer 1995.
Cornell University
David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel. Land, Energy and Water: The Constraints Governing Ideal U.S. Population Size. 1990.
Cornell University
David Pimentel. Climate Changes and Food Supply. In Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, 1993.
Environment America Research & Policy Center
Timothy Telleen-Lawton. Hotter Fields, Lower Yields: How Global Warming Could Hurt America’s Farms. April 2009.
Environmental Defense Fund
Fighting Global Warming with Food: Low-Carbon Choices for Dinner. July 2007.
European Union
European Union Report on Agriculture and Environment
PDF Available Here
European Environment Agency
Agriculture and Environment in EU-15 – the IRENA Indicator Report. January 2006.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Press Release: More people than ever are victims of hunger
June 2009
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Livestock’s Long Shadow: environmental issues and options
Rome, 2006
Report Available Here
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Lee-Ann Jaykus, Marion Woolridge, J. Michael Frank, Marina Miraglia, Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, Cristina Tirado, Renata Clarke, and Mary Friel. Climate Change: Implications for Food Safety. 2008.
Food Climate Research Network
Tara Garnett. Cooking up a Storm: Food, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Our Changing Climate. September 2008.
Food Ethics Council
Meat Consumption Trends and Environmental Implications. November 2007.
Gastronomica
Michele Field. Climate Change and the Future of Taste. In Gastronomica, Fall 2008.
Global Change & Human Health
Cynthia Rosenzweig, Ana Iglesias, X.B. Yang, Paul R. Epstein, and Eric Chivian. Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events; Implications for Food Production, Plant Diseases, and Pests. In Global Change & Human Health, December 2001.
Humane Society of the United States
An HSUS Report: The Impact of Animal Agriculture on Global Warming and Climate Change. 2008.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Sarah Ellis. The Changing Climate for Food and Agriculture: A Literature Review. October 2008.
International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development
Anthony Okon Nyong. Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade: Implications for Sustainable Development. May 2008.
International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development
Climate Change and Trade on the Road to Copenhagen. May 2008.
International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development
Hasit Shah. The Future of Agriculture: A Global Dialogue amongst Stakeholders. May 2008.
International Food Policy Research Institute
Gerald C. Nelson. Agriculture and Climate Change: An Agenda for Negotiation in Copenhagen. May 2009.
International Food Policy Research Institute
Tim Lang. Agriculture, Food, and Health – Perspectives on a Long Relationship. 2006.
The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
Summary for Decision Makers of the Global Report, 2008
PDF Available Here
International Forum on Globalization
The Rise and Predictable Fall of Globalized Industrial Agriculture
By D. Barker, 2007
PDF Available Here
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report
Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K. and Reisinger, A. (Eds.)
PDF Available Here
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds. Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of WorkingGroup II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2007.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group III.
Chapter on Agriculture, within Climate Change 2007: Mitigation.
Smith, P., D. Martino, Z. Cai, D. Gwary, H. Janzen, P. Kumar, B. McCarl, S. Ogle, F. O’Mara, C. Rice, B. Scholes, O. Sirotenko, 2007: Agriculture. In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture
Manifesto on Climate and the Future of Food Security, 2008
Editors:
Debi Barker, Center for Food Safety (CFS)
Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Technology, Science, and Ecology; and Navdanya
Caroline Lockhart, Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture
This report, published by the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, assesses that the industrial and globalized food system is a major contributor to climate change, contributing at least 25 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the report also demonstrates that the present food system is also extremely vulnerable to climate change. Almost every corner of the globe has already been touched by dramatic weather shifts that have affected crop production and food distribution.
Yet, governments are not fully integrating the contradiction between promoting an industrial, fossil-fuel driven food system that creates both food insecurity and climate and energy insecurity. The Commission’s report synthesizes interdisciplinary scientific research that establishes that ecological organic agriculture is a vital solution both for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, and for ensuring food security for all.
The Commission is a joint initiative between the regional government of Tuscany and a group of leaders of civil society, academics, and government representatives.
The Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security can be found at
www.future-food.org or www.arsia.toscana.it
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Gunther Fischer, Mahendra Shah, and Harrij van Velthuizen. Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability. 2002.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Gunther Fischer, Mahendra Shah, Harrij van Velthuizen, and Freddy O. Nachtergaele. Global Agro-ecological Assessment for Agriculture in the 21st Century. 2001.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Identifying our Climate FoodPrint: Assessing and Reducing the Global Warming Impacts of Food and Agriculture in the U.S.
By Jennifer Edwards, Jim Kleinschmit and Heather Schoonover, 2009
The article explores the role of agriculture in reaching GHG emissions targets and cites the importance of “diverse, decentralized, resilient and synergistic” agricultural systems in order to reduce GHG emissions and adapt to climate change. The U.S. needs to find ways to transition to an ecological system while maintaining yield, and to support climate-friendly practices worldwide. All aspects of the “food life cycle” are taken into account, including percent GHGs emitted by different sectors of the U.S. farm system. On-farm activities are the greatest agricultural contributor to GHG emissions. Climate-friendly practices are detailed for production, processing, transportation, and consumption and disposal, so that agriculture can become part of the climate solution, rather than remain part of the problem.
Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development
Donald Kaniaru, Rajendra Shende, Scott Stone, and Durwood Zaelke. Strengthening the Montreal Protocol: Insurance Against Abrupt Climate Change. March 2007.
Minnesota University
Vernon W. Rutta, Ed. Agriculture Environment & Health: Sustainable Development in the 21st Century. 1994.
Monthly Review
Jules Pretty. Can Ecological Agriculture Feed Nine Billion People? In Monthly Review, November 2009.
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA)
Agriculture, Climate Change and Carbon Sequestration
By Jeff Schahczenski and Holly Hill, 2009
This report provides background on climate change effects and the GHG emissions associated with plant and animal agriculture. These sectors contribute a great deal of nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere due to agricultural practices including: the production of nitrogen-based fertilizers; the combustion of fossil fuels; waste management; and enteric fermentation. CH4 and N2O are especially important gases to recognize for their global warming potential, due to their potency and persistence in the environment. However, there are many agricultural methods that can have positive effects in mitigating climate change. These practices include: organic production; cover-cropping; reduced fertilizer use; land conservation; water management; and improved manure management. The report also reviews the advantages and disadvantages to farmers and the agricultural sector of a cap-and-trade system, a carbon tax, and subsidies as methods to encourage efforts to curb GHG emissions and mitigate adverse climate change effects.
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Food Miles: How Far Your Food Travels Has Serious Consequences For Your Health and the Climate, 2007
A short document outlining the environmental implications, especially pertaining to climate change, of growing, processing and transporting food. NRDC findings show that locally sourced food is the best choice for the ecological and health conscious consumer. The document discusses food miles, the impact of air pollution from food transportation on health, and the increases in GHG emissions from food transport. Finally, the document advises supporting communities and the environment by buying locally.
PDF Available Here
Nature
Cynthia Rosenzweig and Martin L. Parry. Potential Impact of Climate Change on World Food Supply. In Nature, January 1994.
Article available for purchase Here
Overseas Development Institute
Eva Ludi, Christopher Stevens, Leo Peskett, and Lidia Cabral. Climate Change and Agriculture: Agricultural Trade, Markets and Investment. March 2007.
Post Carbon Institute (PCI)
The Food and Farming Transition Toward a Post Carbon Food System
By Richard Heinberg and Michael Bomford, 2009
A report detailing the social and environmental impacts of the industrial food system, arguing that the American food system’s current dependence on fossil fuels is not sustainable. Though this system makes food cheap and abundant, hidden costs include: environmental degradation from fertilizer runoff; deforestation; soil degradation; lower food quality; economic disadvantages for smaller producers; and pesticide and herbicide pollution of air and water that has negatively impacted public health and the health of ecosystems. The food system’s dependence on fossil fuels also makes food sources extremely vulnerable to the oil supply. In order to wean our food system off fossil fuels, farmers must sequester carbon in soils, reduce pesticide use, use renewable energy, rely on more local food sources, consume less meat, and produce on a smaller scale. PCI advocates a careful and intentional transition to a new system with more farmers, smaller and more diversified farms, less processing, and more local consumption.
Soil Science Society of America
Does Soil Impact Climate Change?
Sustainable Table
Anna Lappe. The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork. October 2008.
Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis
By Vandana Shiva, October 2008
South End Press, $15 paperback original, ISBN: 9780896087828
In Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis (South End Press, 2008), Dr. Vandana Shiva guides us through the current discussion on agricultural reform and climate change, and dares us to imagine a truly sustainable world. She speaks with a bold and visionary voice that compels us to address the shortage of food and the destruction of the environment simultaneously, arguing that they are inherently linked, and that any attempt to solve one without the other will get us nowhere. With her customary sharp insight and accessible style, Shiva’s latest work exposes the myriad ways in which industrial agricultural practices not only cause hunger and poverty but also cause untold environmental destruction. At the heart of the innovative links that Shiva makes between the environment, food production, and social justice is a bold question: Does our future lie with soil or oil?
The Oakland Institute
Lim Li Ching. Sustainable Agriculture: Meeting Food Security Needs, Addressing Climate Change Challenges. October 2008.
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development & Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2007-2016. 2007.
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development
Environmental Performance of Agriculture in OECD Countries Since 1990. 2008.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Wolfram Schlenker and Michael J. Roberts. Nonlinear Temperature Effects Indicate Severe Damages to U.S. Crop Yields Under Climate Change. July 2009.
Article available for purchase at http://www.pnas.org/content/106/37/15594.abstract
Texas A&M University
Bruce A. McCarl, Richard M. Adams, and Brian H. Hurd. Global Climate Change and Its Impact on Agriculture. February 2001.
Texas A&M University – Department of Agricultural Economics
Chi-Chung Chen and Bruce A. McCarl. An Investigation of the Relationship Between Pesticide Usage and Climate Change. In Climatic Change, September 2001.
Third World Network
Food Crisis, Climate Change and the Importance of Sustainable Agriculture
By Martin Khor, 2008
Agriculture both affects and is affected by climate change. Directly, agriculture emits billions of tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually through soil and manure management practices, biomass burning, and enteric fermentation in cattle. Indirectly, agricultural contributions to climate change include emissions from pesticide and fertilizer production and application and emissions from land-use changes as a result of land being converted into crop land. The adverse effects of climate change can be detrimental to agricultural production especially in developing countries, due especially to water scarcity and increasing frequency droughts and floods. As these effects become more apparent, they will only worsen food security in vulnerable regions. However, agriculture can also play a role in mitigating and adapting to climate change, especially through the employment of sustainable and organic practices to reduce emissions, improve irrigation methods, and increase food production in developing countries.
Union of Concerned Scientists
Doug Gurian-Sherman. CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations. April 2008.
United Nations Environment Programme
The Environmental Food Crisis. 2009.
United States Climate Change Science Program
The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States. 2008.
United States Department of Agriculture
Climate Change: Economic Implications for World Agriculture
PDF Available Here
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Rachel Hauser, Steve Archer, Peter Backlund, Jerry Hatfield, Anthony Janetos, Dennis Lettenmaier, Mike G. Ryan, David Schimel, and Margaret Walsh. The Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Ecosystems. December 2009.
United States Department of State
Fourth Climate Action Report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. 2006.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Report on Agricultural Emissions
PDF Available Here
United States Global Change Research Program
Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
PDF Available Here
United States Global Change Research Program
Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States: A State of Knowledge Report from the U.S. Global Change Research Program. 2009.
University of Essex
J.N. Pretty, A.S. Ball, T. Lang, and J.I.L. Morison. Farm Costs and Food Miles: An Assessment of the Full Cost of the UK Weekly Food Basket. 2005.
University of Oxford
C. Rosenzweig, M.L. Parry, G. Fischer, and K. Frohberg. Climate Change and World Food Supply. 1993.
Western Journal of Agricultural Economics
R.M. Adams, B.A. McCarl, D.J. Dudek, and J.D. Glyer. Implications of Global Climate Change for Western Agriculture. December 1988.
The World Bank
‘Climate Smart’ World Within Reach, Says World Bank
November 9, 2009
The World Bank.
Jules Pretty. Agroecological Approaches to Agricultural Development. (Background paper for the World Development Report 2008) November 2006.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Agricultural Ecosystems: Facts and Trends. 2008.
World Resources Institute
Paul Faeth and Suzie Greenhalgh. A Climate and Environmental Strategy for U.S. Agriculture. November 2000.
World Watch
Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang. Livestock and Climate Change: What If the Key Actors in Climate Change Are Cows, Pigs, and Chickens? November/December 2009.
Mitigation
ActionAid
Eric Holt-Gimenez and Annie Shattuck. Smallholder Solutions to Hunger, Poverty and Climate Change. 2009.
EarthSave International
Noam Mohr. A New Global Warming Strategy: How Environmentalists Are Overlooking Vegetarianism as the Most Effective Tool Against Climate Change in Our Lifetimes. August 2005.
Environmental Working Group
Kari Hamerschlag. California’s Climate Change Policy Leaves Agriculture in the Dust: Major Missed Opportunities for Synergies in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. September 2009.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Climate Change Talks Should Include Farmers: Agriculture in Developing Countries Could Play Crucial Role in Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions. April 2009.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Wendy Mann, Leslie Lipper, Timm Tennigkeit, Nancy McCarthy, Giacomo Branca, and Keith Paustian. Food Security and Agricultural Mitigation in Developing Countries: Options for Synergies. October 2009.
Greenpeace
Cool Farming: Climate Impacts of Agriculture and Mitigation Potential
By Jessica Bellarby, Bente Foereid, Astley Hastings and Pete Smith, 2008
Agriculture contributes significantly, both directly and indirectly, to GHG emissions. Direct emissions are mostly from soil and livestock while indirect emissions include GHGs from land conversion, chemicals, and fossil fuels. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soils and methane (CH4) emissions from enteric fermentation of cattle are the largest sources of emissions. (Report includes tables for specifics on emissions and mitigation potential.) These GHG emissions from agriculture are projected to increase with fertilizer use and meat consumption. Recent studies have questioned the sustainability of modern industrial agriculture, while considering, as a solution, a shift to farming practices that could provide large scale carbon sinks. Greenpeace promotes agriculture’s potential to contribute less to global GHG emissions, and even to mitigate climate change. Potential mitigation opportunities include: improved crop and grazing land management; restoration of organic soils for increased carbon sinks; improved water management; improved livestock management; increased efficiency in manufacture of fertilizers; and reduction in consumer demand for meat.
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)
The Role of Organic Agriculture in Mitigating Climate Change: A Scoping Study
By Johannes Kotschi and Karl Mueller-Saemann, 2004
While the agricultural sector is responsible for approximately 15 percent of all GHG emissions, at the same time it offers different options to reduce GHGs significantly by either minimizing the production of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) or by systematically sequestering CO2 in soil and in plant biomass. However, organic agriculture shows more potential to reduce emissions as compared to conventional agriculture, dependent on the production and application of fossil-fuel intensive fertilizers and pesticides. Compared to conventional agriculture, organic agriculture uses less fossil fuel by avoiding energy-demanding fertilizers, contributes to improved biological activity in soils, and provides several methods that increase soil organic carbon retention. As the article concludes, organic agriculture is “superior to mainstream agriculture” in terms of the large role it can play in mitigating climate change both through avoiding and sequestering GHGs.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Mark Muller, Catherine Hofman, and Paul Hodges. Addressing Climate Change and Providing New Opportunities for Farmers. September 2000.
The Lancet
Dr. Sharon Friel, Dr. Alan D. Dangour, Tara Garnett, Dr. Karen Lock, Dr. Zaid Chalabi, Dr. Ian Roberts, Ainslie Butler, Dr. Colin D. Butler, Dr. Jeff Waage, Dr. Anthony McMichael and Andy Haines. Public Health Benefits of Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions: Food and Agriculture. In The Lancet, December 2009.
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development
Agricultural Practices that Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Overview and Results of Survey Instrument. 2002.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Charles R. Frink, Paul E. Waggoner, and Jesse H. Ausubel. Perspective – Nitrogen Fertilizer: Retrospect and Prospect. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, February 1999.
Redefining Progress
Diana Deumling, Mathis Wackernagel, and Chad Monfreda. Eating up the Earth: How Sustainable Food Systems Shrink Our Ecological Footprint. Agriculture Footprint Brief, July 2003.
Rodale Institute
Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming
By Tim J. LaSalle and Paul Hepperly, 2008
Rodale Institute promotes a rapid transition to “regenerative organic agriculture” from the current, fossil-fuel based system in the U.S. The Rodale Institute’s Farming Systems Trial (FST) compares conventional and organic farming in the United States. The study shows that conventional systems are not sustainable and suggests that regenerative organic agriculture, though often underestimated, may be the most effective current strategy for mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Agricultural carbon sequestration could be one of the most productive mitigation techniques, with the potential to sequester up to 40 percent of current CO2 emissions, but more research is needed on soil carbon sequestration. More research is also needed into the external economic benefits of regenerative organic agriculture (public health, etc.) Education, training, and policy shifts in favor of these ecological practices are imperative.
Soil Science
Cynthia Rosenzweig and Daniel Hillel. Soil and Global Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities. In Soil Science, January 2000.
Texas A&M University
Richard M. Adams, Ching-Cheng Chang, Bruce A. McCarl, and John M. Callaway. The Role of Agriculture in Climate Change: A Preliminary Evaluation of Emission Control Strategies.
Texas A&M University
Bruce A. McCarl and Uwe Schneider. Curbing Greenhouse Gases: Agriculture’s Role.
United Nations Environment Programme
K. Trumper, M. Bertzky, B. Dickson, G. van der Heijden, M. Jenkins, and P. Manning. The Natural Fix? The Role of Ecosystems in Climate Mitigation. June 2009.
United States Department of Agriculture
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Buildup: Potential Impact on Farm-Sector Returns
PDF Available Here
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices. September 2009.
United States Geological Survey
A Guide to Potential Soil Carbon Sequestration
PDF Available Here
University of Florida, School of Natural Resources and Environment
Stephen Mulkey, Janaki Alavalapati, Alan Hodges, Ann C. Wilkie, and Sabine Grunwald.
Opportunities for Greenhouse Gas Reduction through Forestry and Agriculture in Florida. Executive Summary, April 2008.
West Virginia University
Mark Sperow. The Marginal Costs of Carbon Sequestration: Implications of One Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Activity. In Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, November 2007.
Worldwatch Institute
Mitigating Climate Change Through Food and Land Use
By Sara J. Scherr and Sajal Sthapit, 2009
Land makes up a quarter of Earth’s surface, and its soil and plants hold three times as much carbon as the atmosphere. More than 30 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions arise from the land use sector. Thus, no strategy for mitigating global climate change can be complete or successful without reducing emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses. Moreover, only land-based or “terrestrial” carbon sequestration offers the possibility today of large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, through plant photosynthesis.
Agricultural communities can play a central role in fighting climate change. Even at a relatively low price for mitigating carbon emissions, improved land management could offset a quarter of global emissions from fossil fuel use in a year. In contrast, solutions for reducing emissions by carbon capture in the energy sector are unlikely to be widely utilized for decades and do not remove the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. To tackle the climate challenge, we need to pursue land use solutions in addition to efforts to improve energy efficiency and speed the transition to renewable energy.
Yet so far, the international science and policy communities have been slow to embrace terrestrial climate action. Some fear that investments in land use will not produce “real” climate benefits, or that land use action would distract attention from investment in energy alternatives. There is also a concern that land management changes cannot be implemented quickly enough and at a scale that would make a difference to the climate.
For a review copy of Mitigating Climate Change through Food and Land Use, please contact jtier@worldwatch.org or go to http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6183
World Resources Institute
Kevin Baumert, Timothy Herzog and Jonathan Preshing. Navigating the Numbers: Greenhouse Gas Data and International Climate Policy – Chapter 15: Agriculture. 2005.
Adaptation
ActionAid
The Time is Now: Lessons from Farmers Adapting to Climate Change, 2008
This report presents recommendations to the UNFCCC for agricultural and food security programs and funding based on case studies of programs in areas likely to be most affected by adverse climate impacts. These regions include: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, Malawi and Vietnam, all of which have implemented programs to face food shortages and agricultural production issues resulting from climate effects on the environment. Sustainable, low-input, climate-resilient agricultural techniques have proven successful in addressing food security in the face of climate challenges, while large-scale industrial agriculture has been unable to do so in a manner that promotes ecological preservation and food sovereignty. As such, UNFCCC support for food and agricultural programming should be based on these successful case studies: enhancing farmers ability to respond quickly and effectively to shocks in order to maintain food production; advancing farmers’ capacity to employ strategies that will enhance soil quality; increase food security and reduce exposure to climate shocks; supporting innovative, farmer-controlled practices based on local knowledge and traditional practices; allowing farmers to decrease dependency on foreign inputs; and supporting community-level organization.
Action Aid
Climate Change and Smallholder Farmers in Malawi: Understanding Poor People’s Experiences in Climate Change Adaptation, 2006
The effects of climate change are already being felt by small farmers in many of world’s poorest nations. Based on field studies in two regions of Malawi, this report finds that environmental disaster events attributable to climate change, such as increases in flood and drought frequency and increases in temperature, are having serious effects on agricultural productivity and threaten both the economic viability and food security of the regions. Some successful climate adaptation strategies have been implemented; however, governmental policies relating to crop production methods and the privatization of seed companies have made agriculture unprofitable for many small-scale farmers. Action Aid calls on African governments to change their policies and on major carbon-emitting nations to assist in financing the resources these populations lack in their transition to sustainable, climate-resilient agricultural practices.
PDF Available Here
Climatic Change
Robert W. Kates. Cautionary Tales: Adaptation and the Global Poor. In Climatic Change, April 2000.
Climate Research
Peeter Karing, Ain Kallis, and Heino Tooming. Adaptation Principles of Agriculture to Climate Change. In Climate Research, August 1999.
Commission on Climate Change and Development
Closing the Gaps: Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation to Climate Change in Developing Countries. 2009.
Cornell University
David Pimentel, Paul Hepperly, James Hanson, Rita Seidel, and Daivd Douds. Organic and Conventional Farming Systems: Environmental and Economic Issues. July 2005.
Danish Foreign Office
Dialogue on Climate Change Adaptation for Land and Water Management. November 2008.
Environmental Working Group
Kari Hamerschlag. California’s Climate Change Policy Leaves Agriculture in the Dust: Major Missed Opportunities for Synergies in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. September 2009.
ETC Group
Who Will Feed Us? Questions for the Food and Climate Crisis. November 2009.
European Journal of Agronomy
Francesco N. Tubiello, Marcello Donatelli, C. Rosenzweig, and Claudio O. Stockle. Effects of Climate Change and Elevated CO2 on Cropping Systems: Model Predictions at Two Italian Locations. In European Journal of Agronomy, August 2000.
Friends of the Earth & Compassion in World Farming
Eating the Planet? How We Can Feed the World Without Trashing It. November 2009.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Low Greenhouse Gas Agriculture: Mitigation and Adaptation Potential of Sustainable Farming Systems
2009
This Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) article promotes mitigation and adaption potential of sustainable agriculture. It examines and evaluates current farming practices with regard to their effects on climate change and provides detailed background information such as scientific databases, tables, graphics etc. Recommendations to reduce GHG emissions made by The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are summarized and compared to data from organic agriculture. These recommendations relate to crop rotation and farming system design; nutrient and manure management; livestock management; pasture and fodder supply improvement; fertile soil maintenance; and restoration of degraded land. The article outlines the advantages of organic agriculture over conventional agriculture in contributions to mitigate GHGs as well as the ability to cope with climate change. Examples for these advantages include: the reduced reliance on external inputs; better soil management; and the enhancement of biodiversity in organic agriculture. The authors conclude that sustainable and organic agriculture offer “multiple opportunities to reduce GHGs and counteract global warming” and that an optimum organic scenario could mitigate up to “65 percent of agricultural GHG.”
Global Crop Diversity Trust
Food Security and Climate Change: A Call for Commitment and Preparation
November 2009
International Food Policy Research Institute
Gerald C. Nelson, Mark W. Rosegrant, Jawoo Koo, Richard Robertson, Timothy Sulser, Tingju Zhu, Claudia Ringler, Siwa Msangi, Amanda Palazzo, Miroslav Batka, Marilia Magalhaes, Rowena Valmonte-Santos, Mandy Ewing, and David Lee. Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation. September 2009.
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Climate Change and the Future of Smallholder Agriculture. How Can Rural People Be a Part of the Solution to Climate Change? February 2008.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. M. Reilly and D. Schimmelpfennig. Agricultural Impact Assessment, Vulnerability, and the Scope for Adaptation. In Climatic Change, 1999.
Oxfam
Adaptation 101: How Climate Change Hurts Poor Communities – and How We Can Help. April 2008.
Stanford University/Science (Magazine)
David B. Lobell, Marshall B. Burke, Claudia Tebaldi, Michael D. Mastrandrea, Walter P. Falcon, and Rosamond L. Naylor. Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptation Needs for Food Security in 2030. In Science, February 2008.
Third World Network
Miguel A. Altieri and Parviz Koohafkan. Enduring Farms: Climate Change, Smallholders and Traditional Farming Communities. 2008.
Third World Network
Sustainable Agriculture: Meeting Food Security Needs, Addressing Climate Change Challenges Briefing Paper 1
By Lim Li Ching, 2009
The effects of climate change on agriculture are inherently linked to environmental conservation and food security. Furthermore, it has become apparent that agricultural systems contribute to climate change. In order to meet the various challenges posed by the relationship between climate change and agriculture, such as food insecurity, economic stability, and environmental conservation, a new approach to agriculture must be adopted. This report emphasizes the ability of sustainable and organic methods of agricultural production to meet global food demand, increase the income of farmers in developing countries, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. In order to do so, the agriculture sector will need collaborative efforts between farmers, communities, and policy makers.
United States Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Issues of Longrun Sustainability
Report Available Here
United States Department of Agriculture
World Agriculture and Climate Change: Economic Adaptations
Report Available Here
Water
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Integrated Solutions to the Water, Agriculture and Climate Crises, 2009
A fact sheet, based on the report by Shiney Varghese, highlighting the connections between the food, water and climate crises, so as to begin to develop complimentary next steps. Agriculture’s broad influence makes it an ideal vehicle for solutions. The author discusses water shortages, the impact of agriculture on climate change, the need for water in agriculture, methods of sustainable irrigation, and the negative impacts of agriculture on water quality. Women must be at the center of a discussion of water, as they are central to water use, though they often lack official control. The document concludes with a list of potential solutions such as ensuring water availability, safeguarding women’s human rights, ensuring that small-holders have a say in policy decisions, and researching the climate change mitigation potential of multifunctional agriculture.
Stockholm International Water Institute
J. Lundqvist, C. de Fraiture, and D. Molden. Saving Water: From Field to Fork – Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain. SIWI Policy Brief, 2008.
University of Kassel
Petra Doll. Impact of Climate Change and Variability on Irrigation Requirements: A Global Perspective. In Climatic Change, August 2002.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Water, Energy and Climate Change: A Contribution from the Business Community. 2009.
World Resources Institute
Suzie Greenhalgh and Amanda Sauer. Awakening the “Dead Zone”: An Investment for Agriculture, Water Quality, and Climate Change. February 2003.
Views from the South
BrighterGreen
Mia MacDonald and Sangmithra Iyer. The Challenges of China’s Encounter with Factory Farms. August 2008.
ETC Group
Green Revolution 2.0 for Africa? April 2007.
Food First
Dr. Eric Holt-Gimenez, Dr. Miguel A. Altieri, and Dr. Peter Rosset. Food First Policy Brief No. 12: Ten Reasons Why the Rockefeller and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations’ Alliance for Another Green Revolution Will Not Solve the Problems of Poverty and Hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa. October 2006.
Oakland Institute
Voices from Africa: African Farmers and Environmentalists Speak Out Against a New Green Revolution in Africa
Edited by Anuradha Mittal and Melissa Moore, 2009
A collection of African views on solutions to hunger and poverty on the continent. The essays contest the idea of the need for a green revolution in Africa, expressing resistance to genetically modified crops and supporting protection of biodiversity as a way to ensure food sovereignty. The effects of the global food crisis are felt especially acutely in sub-Saharan Africa, where 24 million people are below the hunger threshold. The essayists argue that the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) fails to recognize the root causes of hunger and poverty in Africa. In order to address hunger issues a paradigm shift is needed in agriculture that provides widespread access to safe and nutritious food while maintaining the health of communities, cultures, and the environment. This essay collection attempts to address the absence of the voice of the African farmer from discussions about solutions to the hunger crisis.
South Centre
Sustainable Development in the Context of Climate Change: Overriding Priority of the South, 2008
Sustainable development and climate change are inherently linked. This analytical note calls for a more collective global approach to climate change, supporting developing countries in their efforts to shift to a “low-carbon sustainable development path.” While climate change has largely been exacerbated by countries in the “North,” the global “South” will experience greater adverse impacts, especially people involved in agricultural activities (a major concern, as 50 percent of populations of developing countries earn their livelihood through agriculture). The poor of the South cannot afford to have climate change hinder their sustainable development and their food security, yet climate change is likely to do so, as well as increasing the economic inequalities between developed and developing countries. Therefore, any discussion of climate change mitigation must include the sustainable development of the global South.
Tebtebba
Oil Palm and Other Commercial Tree Plantations, Monocropping: Impacts on Indigenous Peoples’ Land Tenure and Resource Management Systems and Livelihoods
By Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Parshuram Tamang, 2007
In this report, Tebtebba approaches emerging climate change-related issues such as biofuels, carbon sinks, and carbon emission trading from an indigenous point of view, arguing that the recommendations adopted by the UNFCCC are creating a “host of other problems.” Tebtebba accuses the industrialized countries of being unwilling to effectively reduce GHG emissions and instead promoting unjust and “market approach” measures such as carbon emission trading or the use of biofuels. The report highlights various studies that demonstrate the inefficiency of biofuel production, especially considering the deforestation witnessed in Third World countries to grow crops for biofuels which result in net energy losses. According to the author, the current measures undertaken to reduce climate change by the industrialized countries are regarded as ineffective and contradictory to the “basic worldviews and values of indigenous people who have used their lands in a sustainable manner.”
Third World Network
Rethinking Agriculture: Briefing Paper 56
By Lim Li Ching, 2009
In order to face the myriad effects of climate challenges on agriculture, a global paradigm shift in agricultural production is necessary. As a sector that both contributes to and is affected by climate change, agriculture holds a unique opportunity to adapt to and mitigate climate change effects. Extreme and erratic weather patterns, water scarcity, and food insecurity will only be exacerbated by climate change, and agricultural systems must evolve to face these challenges. Additional challenges to food security, economic stability, and environmental sustainability that developing nations face come from non-weather related issues as well, such as biofuel production, land grabs, corporate concentration, genetically engineered crops and the financial crisis. Organic, ecological, and sustainable agricultural systems have a demonstrated ability to provide both economic viability and environmental sustainability to farmers and communities, and global policy and aid programs must support these practices.
Third World Network
Sustainable Agriculture: Meeting Food Security Needs, Addressing Climate Change Challenges Briefing Paper 1
By Lim Li Ching, 2009
The effects of climate change on agriculture are inherently linked to environmental conservation and food security. Furthermore, it has become apparent that agricultural systems contribute to climate change. In order to meet the various challenges posed by the relationship between climate change and agriculture, such as food insecurity, economic stability, and environmental conservation, a new approach to agriculture must be adopted. This report emphasizes the ability of sustainable and organic methods of agricultural production to meet global food demand, increase the income of farmers in developing countries, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. In order to do so, the agriculture sector will need collaborative efforts between farmers, communities, and policy makers.
Third World Network
Food Crisis, Climate Change and the Importance of Sustainable Agriculture
By Martin Khor, 2008
Agriculture both affects and is affected by climate change. Directly, agriculture emits billions of tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually through soil and manure management practices, biomass burning, and enteric fermentation in cattle. Indirectly, agricultural contributions to climate change include emissions from pesticide and fertilizer production and application and emissions from land-use changes as a result of land being converted into crop land. The adverse effects of climate change can be detrimental to agricultural production especially in developing countries, particularly because of water scarcity and increasingly frequent droughts and floods. As these effects become more apparent, they will only worsen food security in vulnerable regions. However, agriculture can also play a role in mitigating and adapting to climate change, especially through the employment of sustainable and organic practices to reduce emissions, improve irrigation methods, and increase food production in developing countries.
Third World Network
The Case for Sustainable Agriculture: Meeting Productivity and Climate Challenges
By Lim Li Chin, 2009
Sustainable agriculture, which includes such practices as organic farming and agroecology, integrates natural regenerative processes, minimizes non-renewable inputs and draws on traditional and local knowledge of farmers. As this paper shows, the application of sustainable agriculture methods can greatly enhance farm productivity, especially in the developing world, without harming the environment. Importantly, ecologically friendly, energy-efficient sustainable agriculture mitigates the pressing problem of climate change and also enables farmers to better respond and adapt to increased climate variability. This paper calls for investment, research, and policy support to be channeled toward sustainable agriculture in order to promote mainstream adoption of farming approaches which can more reliably feed the world now and into the future.
More info available here
Third World Network
Conflict Deepens Before Copenhagen
By Martin Khor
November 9, 2009
Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis
By Vandana Shiva, October 2008
South End Press, $15 paperback original, ISBN: 9780896087828
In Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis (South End Press, 2008), Dr. Vandana Shiva guides us through the current discussion on agricultural reform and climate change, and dares us to imagine a truly sustainable world. She speaks with a bold and visionary voice that compels us to address the shortage of food and the destruction of the environment simultaneously, arguing that they are inherently linked, and that any attempt to solve one without the other will get us nowhere. With her customary sharp insight and accessible style, Shiva’s latest work exposes the myriad ways in which industrial agricultural practices not only cause hunger and poverty but also cause untold environmental destruction. At the heart of the innovative links that Shiva makes between the environment, food production, and social justice is a bold question: Does our future lie with soil or oil?
U.S. Legislation
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Suzanne Brooks and R. Neal Elliott. Agricultural Energy Efficiency Infrastructure: Leveraging the 2002 Farm Bill and Steps for the Future. July 2007.
Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the Cool Foods Campaign (CFC)
Comments on the EPA Proposed Rule “CERCLA/EPCRA Administrative Reporting Exemption for Air Releases of Hazardous Substances from Animal Waste,” 2008.
CFS and CFC challenge the EPA’s proposal to exempt reporting of these substances based on documented human health and environmental risks due to hazardous air pollutants from animal wastes. CFS and CFC determine EPA’s action to be negligent to their duty to protect public and environmental health and contrary to the general mission and statutory responsibility of the agency. The comments contain detailed documentation of the various hazardous chemicals that are present in each of the animal agriculture sectors and their risks for worker, community, and environmental health. The comments conclude that EPA’s responsibility to address climate change will require more, not less, urgent government action and oversight.
Center for Food Safety and International Center for Technology Assessment
Comments on EPA Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule, 2009.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) and its sister organization the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) respond to the EPA’s request for public input on the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. In the proposed rule, the EPA establishes that large scale farms with manure management systems emitting greater than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalence (CO2e) would be subject to report their emissions. While the EPA should be commended for implementing a GHG reporting requirement, the threshold as currently proposed is too high to ensure the highest quality data is collected. To be consistent with legislation currently in the U.S. House of Representatives, CFS and ICTA recommend lowering the reporting threshold to 10,000 tons CO2e. Further, CFS and ICTA recommend that the EPA consider enteric fermentation in the reporting requirement, which is the greatest source of methane in the United States (U.S.). In order to draft and commit to a strategy for GHG reduction and climate change mitigation, the U.S. must rely on sound science for an accurate understanding of where emissions are coming from and the types of management systems associated with such emissions. Collection of such data will allow the U.S. to enable quicker dissemination of effective strategies.
Cool Foods Campaign
Comment Submission to the California EPA Air Resource Board on AB 32 (Global Warming Solutions Act) Scoping Plan, 2008.
In the fall of 2008, the CA-EPA ARB requested public comment on the draft scoping plant for the Global Warming Solutions Act. The Cool Foods Campaign (CFC) submission extensively details the evidence behind the role of agriculture in climate change. The CFC focuses specifically on the ways in which the food production, processing, and distribution systems contribute to climate change. Major areas of focus include: excessive water usage from irrigation and livestock facilities; methane emissions from confined livestock operations; inefficiencies in biofuel production; and the production, transportation, and utilization of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. CFC recommends that industrial agricultural practices be re-examined to determine its true global warming impact. CFC also provides evidence for agriculture’s potential to mitigate and adapt to climate change through changes in agricultural and food systems at governmental, industrial, and household levels. Organic agriculture is highlighted as a solution to climate change, due to its documented ability to reduce GHG emissions across all sectors of the system – production, processing, and distribution.
Cool Foods Campaign
Comment Submission to the USDA’s Climate Change Strategic Planning Priorities and Goals for Research, Education and Extension, 2008.
The Cool Foods Campaign (CFC) responds to USDA’s request for public input on the Climate Change Strategic Planning Priorities and Goals for Research, Education and Extension. Within the comments, CFC highlights areas requiring greater research and provides background for the importance of sound scientific data from these areas to determine appropriate food and farm policy measures for climate change prevention, mitigation, and adaptation. Specifically, CFC focuses on the importance of thorough and extensive life-cycle assessments of the four major crop production systems: organic, conventional, organic no-till, and conventional no-till as well as research on various animal agriculture systems including grass-fed pastoral systems. Full life-cycle assessments include pre-farm, on-farm, and post-farm energy usage and emissions including such factors as: processing; packaging; on-farm energy use; enteric fermentation; land-use changes; manure management; food transportation; seed production, cleaning and transport; and the production, packaging, transportation, and application of synthetic and organic fertilizers and pesticides. This research would provide comparative data on the climate change impacts of various agricultural sectors and help shape future policy measures on climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy.
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Antonio Bento and David Wolfe. Cornell Policy Brief: Creating a Role for Agriculture and Forestry in Emerging Carbon Markets. Dec. 2009.
Environmental Working Group
Craig Cox and Andrew Hug. Crying Wolf: Climate Change Far Greater Threat to Farmers than Climate Legislation. 2009.
Environmental Working Group
Loopholes in Climate Bill “Offset” Provisions Lets Major Polluters off the Hook. July 2009.
Greenpeace
David Sasson. Business as Usual: A Report to the President on Pending Federal Climate Legislation (ACES & CEJAPA). October 2009.
Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development
Bruce A. Babcock. Costs and Benefits to Agriculture from Climate Change Policy. In Iowa Ag Review, Summer 2009.
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Steven Shrybman. Trade, Agriculture, and Climate Change: How Agricultural Trade Policies Fuel Climate Change. November 2000.
National Farmers Union
Handout: Principles for Ag Carbon Offset Legislation in Cap and Trade. April 2009.
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Agriculture & Climate Change: Impacts and Opportunities at the Farm Level. 2008.
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Innovative Policy Solutions to Global Climate Change: Agriculture’s Role in Addressing Climate Change. In Brief, No. 2.
Texas A&M University AgriLIFE Research & Extension
Joe L. Outlaw, James W. Richardson, Henry L. Bryant, J. Marc Raulston, George M. Knapek, Brian K. Herbst, Luis A. Ribera, and David P. Anderson. Economic Implications of the EPA Analysis of the CAP and Trade Provisions of H.R. 2454 for U.S. Representative Farms. AFPC Research Paper 09-2. August 2009.
World Resources Institute
Evan Branosky and Suzie Greenhalgh. Agriculture and Climate Change: Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Opportunities in the 2007 Farm Bill. March 2007.
World Resources Institute
Evan Branosky. Agriculture and Climate Change: The Policy Context. October 2006.
Organic
Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming
Uffe Jorgensen and Erik Steen Kristensen. Organic Farming Benefits the Aquatic Environment. December 2003.
Environmental energetic, and economic comparisons of organic and conventional farming systems (2005)
By Pimental D., Hepperly P., Hanson J., Douds D., Seidel R. Bioscience, 55, 574-582.
Fundamental Differences Between Conventional and Organic Tomato Agroecosystems in California.
By L.E. Drinkwater, D.K. Letourneau, F. Workneh, A.H.C. van Bruggen, & C. Shennan. 1995. Ecological Society of America.
Their study of 20 commercial farms in California found that organic fields had 28 percent more carbon in the soil than industrial farms.
Full study not available online, but it is available for purchase at: http://www.jstor.org/pss/2269357
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.
By Catherine Badgley, Jeremy Moghtader, Eileen Quintero, Emily Zakem, M. Jahi Chappell, Katia Avilés-Vázquez, Andrea Samulon and Ivette Perfecto (2007), 22 : 86-108 Cambridge University Press.
This comprehensive study of 293 crop comparisons of industrial and organic agriculture demonstrated that organic farm yields are roughly comparable to industrial farm yields in developed countries and result in much higher yields in developing countries.
The press release can be viewed at: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=5936
Or the full article can be purchased at: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1091304
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)
Organic Agriculture and Food Security, 2002
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Organic Agriculture and Poverty Reduction in Asia: China and India Focus
The lead consultant and primary author of this report was Daniele Giovannucci; the lead evaluator for this evaluation was Paolo Silveri in collaboration with Lea Joensen; 2005.
Organic Consumers Association
Ronnie Cummins. The Organic Revolution: How We Can Stop Global Warming. October 2009.
T. Gomiero, M.G. Paoletti, and D. Pimentel. Energy and Environmental Issues in Organic and Conventional Agriculture. In Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, July 2008.
The Organic Center
David Pimentel. Impacts of Organic Farming on the Efficiency of Energy Use in Agriculture. An Organic Center State of Science Review. August 2006.
U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Mark Shepherd, Bruce Pearce, Bill Cormack, Lois Philipps, Steve Cuttle, Anne Bhogal, Peter Costigan, and Roger Unwin. An Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of Organic Farming. May 2003.
University of Essex
Reducing Food Poverty with Sustainable Agriculture: A Summary of New Evidence
By Jules Pretty and Rachel Hine, 2001
University of Michigan
Catherine Badgley, Jeremy Moghtader, Eileen Quintero, Emily Zakem, M. Jahi Chappell, Katie Aviles-Vazquez, Andrea Samulon, and Ivette Perfecto. Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply. In Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 2007.
United Nations Environment Programme – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Capacity-building Task Force on Trade, Environment and Development
Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa. 2008.
Biotechnology
ETC Group
Down on the Farm: The Impact of Nano-scale Technologies on Food and Agriculture. November 2004.
ETC Group
Patenting the “Climate Genes”… and Capturing the Climate Agenda. May 2008.
Food and Water Watch
Turning Farms into Factories: How the Concentration of Animal Agriculture Threatens Human Health, the Environment, and Rural Communities. July 2007.
Friends of the Earth International
Who Benefits from GM Crops? Feeding the Biotech Giants, Not the World’s Poor. February 2009.
The Organic Center
Charles Benbrook. Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years. November 2009.
Union of Concerned Scientists
Doug Gurian-Sherman. Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops. April 2009.
Union of Concerned Scientists
Doug Gurian-Sherman and Noel Gurwick. No Sure Fix: Prospects for Reducing Nitrogen Fertilzer Pollution through Genetic Engineering. December 2009.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Biotechnology Scenarios: 2000-2050, Using the Future to Explore the Present. 2000.
The Climate, Food, Agriculture & Energy
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Elizabeth Brown and R. Neal Elliott. Potential Energy Efficiency Savings in the Agriculture Sector. April 2005.
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Elizabeth Brown and R. Neal Elliott. On-Farm Energy Use Characterizations. March 2005.
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Elizabeth Brown, R. Neal Elliott, and Steven Nadel. Energy Efficiency Programs in Agriculture: Design, Success, and Lessons Learned. January 2005.
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
R. Neal Elliott. Energy Efficiency in Industry and Agriculture: Lessons from North Carolina. 1993.
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Dr. Martin Okos, Dr. Nishant Rao, Sara Drecher, Mary Rode, and Jeannie Kozak. Energy Usages in the Food Industry. October 1998.
Community Solutions
What Can We Do About Climate Change and Peak Oil? The Community Is the Solution.
Earth Policy Institute
Danielle Murray. Oil and Food: A Rising Security Challenge. May 2005.
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. Renewable Energy from Farms: Building on the Principles of Sustainable Agriculture to Achieve Sustainable Energy. June 2002.
Forestry & REDD
Friends of the Earth
REDD Myths: A Critical Review of Proposed Mechanisms to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries. December 2008.
Rainforest Action Network
The Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign: Defending Forests, Family Farmers and Our Climate.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
The Sustainable Forest Products Industry, Carbon and Climate Change: Key Messages for Policy-Makers. 2005.
World Resources Institute
Florence Daviet. Beyond Carbon Financing: The Role of Sustainable Development Policies and Measures in REDD. March 2009.
World Resources Institute
Florence Daviet, Suzie Greenhalgh, and Emily Weninger. The Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry Guidance for Greenhouse Gas Project Accounting. October 2006.
World Resources Institute
Climate, Biodiversity, and Forests: Issues and Opportunities Emerging from the Kyoto Protocol. November 1998.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
State of the World’s Forests 2009. 2009.
Texas A&M University
Darius M. Adams, Ralph J. Alig, Bruce A. McCarl, John M. Callaway, and Steven M. Winnett. Minimum Cost Strategies for Sequestering Carbon in Forests. In Land Economics, August 1999.
Disclaimer: These reports do not necessarily represent the Center for Food Safety or its position on these issues.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group III.
Chapter on Agriculture, within Climate Change 2007: Mitigation.
Smith, P., D. Martino, Z. Cai, D. Gwary, H. Janzen, P. Kumar, B. McCarl, S. Ogle, F. O’Mara, C. Rice, B. Scholes, O. Sirotenko,
2007: Agriculture. In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
Among the startling statistics and research contained in this report, it concludes that, of global anthropogenic emissions in 2005, agriculture accounts for about 60% of N2O and about 50% of CH4.
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg3/ar4-wg3-chapter8.pdf
