Friday, September 22, 2023
  • Login
CEO North America
  • Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Entrepreneur
    • Industry
    • Innovation
    • Management & Leadership
  • CEO Interviews
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • Environment
  • CEO Life
    • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Entrepreneur
    • Industry
    • Innovation
    • Management & Leadership
  • CEO Interviews
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • Environment
  • CEO Life
    • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
CEO North America
No Result
View All Result


Sustainability study ranks environmental impacts of food production

in Environment
Sustainability study ranks environmental impacts of food production
Share on LinkedinShare on WhatsApp

A study published in the December issue of the journal Nature Sustainability examined what types of food production have the greatest environmental impacts.

Researchers from the University of California Santa Barbara’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) examined nearly 99% of all food produced on land and sea as reported to the United Nations in 2017. The study ranked foods on factors including greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, habitat disturbance and nutrient pollution.

Assessing foods on those factors allowed scientists to track the environmental impacts of different products by pound or kilogram. Those evaluations are helpful in guiding consumer choices, but a more comprehensive examination of the environmental footprint — the locations affected by various pressures from food production and the severity of that pressure — is needed to guide decisions for a growing global population, said Ben Halpern, executive director at NCEAS and lead author of the study.

“The individual choice of 8 billion people adds up,” Halpern said. “We need to know the overall impact of total food production, not just per pound, especially when setting food policy.”

The data revealed how the environmental impact of food production is concentrated in a handful of regions around the world. Just five countries, including the United States, China, India, Brazil and Pakistan, account for nearly half of the global food system’s environmental pressures.

“Cumulative pressures of food production are more concentrated than previously believed, with the vast majority — 92% of pressures from land-based food production — concentrated on just 10% of the Earth’s surface,” said Melanie Frazier, a research scientist at NCEAS and co-author of the study.

The researchers found some countries have larger impacts than other countries for producing the same type of food.

“The environmental efficiency of producing a particular food type varies spatially, such that rankings of foods by efficiency differ sharply among countries,” said Halley Froehlich, assistant professor in environmental studies at the University of California Santa Barbara and a coauthor of the study. “This matters for guiding which foods we eat and from where.”

The environmental impact of beef production in Brazil is higher than the environmental impact of beef production in the United States, even though the United States produces 10% more beef than Brazil. Similarly, the study found that soy production in the United States is twice as environmentally efficient as in India.

Assessing the cumulative pressures brought to light results that could not have been predicted by examining individual pressures alone, according to the researchers. As an example, while raising cattle requires by far the most grazing land, the cumulative pressures of pig farming, which produces substantial greenhouse gas emissions and uses more water than cattle farming, is greater than that of cows.

The study also highlighted connections between land and sea. Pigs and chicken have an impact on the ocean because marine fish like anchovies and sardines are used as feed. Similarly, crop-based feeds used for marine farming extend the environmental impact of seafood onto the land.

Aquatic farming systems produce less than 2% of the world’s food but account for nearly 10% of the food system’s environmental impact, according to the report. Researchers singled out bottom-trawl caught fish for their outsized environmental impact. The cost of fish like cod and haddock is nearly four times greater than other types of fish due to the destruction of seafloor habitats caused by fishing equipment.

Other top environmental offenders measured by cumulative pressures include rice and wheat. Those crops were found to have a similar environmental impact as animal-based foods like milk and chicken due to their intense water use. The massive scale at which those grains are grown also amplifies their impact on natural ecosystems around the world.

The comprehensive information included in the report is needed to help the industry and consumers make better choices, said Halpern, who modified his own eating decisions based on the findings.

“I became a pescatarian years ago because of wanting to reduce the environmental footprint of what I eat,” he said. “But then I thought, I’m a scientist, I should really use science to inform my decisions about what I eat. That’s actually why I started this research project.” 

Courtesy Supermarket Perimeter. By Sam Danley. Article available here.

Tags: environmental impactsfood productionSustainability

Related Posts

Deep-sea mining could be source of minerals critical to earth’s future
Environment

Deep-sea mining could be source of minerals critical to Earth’s future

Ev makers in need of expanded charging infrastructure
Environment

EV makers in need of expanded charging infrastructure

Epa set to regulate pesticides more closely
Environment

EPA set to regulate pesticides more closely

Climate change poises poison ivy to flourish
Environment

Climate change poises poison ivy to flourish

Natural disasters could cause fashion industry $65 billion hit
Environment

Natural disasters could cause fashion industry $65 billion hit

Iea head predicts fossil fuel demand to peak in 2030
Environment

IEA head predicts fossil fuel demand to peak in 2030

Deep freezing could save coral reefs’ futures
Environment

Deep freezing could save coral reefs’ futures

Un warns the world remains behind on slowing climate change
Environment

UN warns the world remains behind on slowing climate change

Us lobster catchers switch focus to seaweed
Environment

US lobster catchers switch focus to seaweed

Summer 2023 breaks global heat records
Environment

Summer 2023 breaks global heat records

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Deep-sea mining could be source of minerals critical to Earth’s future
  • Neuralink to begin human trials
  • Anheuser-Busch ends its traditional clipping of Clydesdale tails
  • US brings back free at-home Covid tests
  • Instacart loses IPO gains during second trading day

Recent Comments

  • Juul Unveils Cutting-Edge Vaping Tech: Navigating FDA Uncertainties – iStreetPark Blog on Juul hopes FDA won’t ban its new high-tech vape
  • CEO North America, August - September 2023 - CEO North America on Interviews – CEO North America, October – November 2022
  • CEO North America, August - September 2023 - CEO North America on CEO North America, December 2022 – January 2023
  • CEO North America, August - September 2023 - CEO North America on Why Tech Companies Are Moving to Texas and Florida
  • CEO North America, August - September 2023 - CEO North America on CEO North America, February 2023 – March 2023

Archives

Categories

  • Art & Culture
  • Business
  • CEO Interviews
  • CEO Life
  • Editor´s Choice
  • Entrepreneur
  • Environment
  • Food
  • Health
  • Highlights
  • Industry
  • Innovation
  • Issues
  • Management & Leadership
  • News
  • Opinion
  • PrimeZone
  • Printed Version
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

  • CONTACT
  • GENERAL ENQUIRIES
  • ADVERTISING
  • MEDIA KIT
  • DIRECTORY
  • TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Editorials – stuart.james@ceo-na.com

Advertising – media@ceo-na.com

NEW YORK

110 Wall St.,
3rd Floor
New York, NY.
10005
USA
+1 212 432 5800

 

MEXICO CITY

Paseo de la Reforma 296,
Floor 38
Mexico City
06600
MEXICO

  • CONTACT
  • GENERAL ENQUIRIES
  • ADVERTISING
  • MEDIA KIT
  • DIRECTORY
  • TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Editorials –
stuart.james@ceo-na.com

Advertising –
media@ceo-na.com

NEW YORK

110 Wall St.,
3rd Floor
New York, NY.
10005
USA
+1 212 432 5800

MEXICO CITY

Paseo de la Reforma 296,
Floor 38
Mexico City
06600
MEXICO

CEO North America © 2022 - Sitemap

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Entrepreneur
    • Industry
    • Innovation
    • Management & Leadership
  • CEO Interviews
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • Environment
  • CEO Life
    • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In