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Cultivating the Future:
FoodintheAgeofClimateChange
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Head Office, Hamburg
Stiftung World Future Council
Bei den Mhren 7020457 Hamburg, GermanyPhone: 0049 (0)40 3070914-0Fax: 0049 (0)40 3070914-14info@worldfuturecouncil.org
UK Office, London
World Future Council Foundation100 Pall Mall
London, SW1Y 5NQ, UKPhone: 0044 (0)20 73213810Fax: 0044 (0)20 73213738info.uk@worldfuturecouncil.org
EU Liaison Office, Brussels
World Future Council FoundationRue Marie-Thrse 211000 Brussels, Belgium
Phone: 0032 (0)2 2101780Fax: 0032 (0)2 2101789info.eu@worldfuturecouncil.org
US Liaison Office, Washington
World Future Council Foundation660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, #302Washington, DC 20003, USAPhone: 001 (202)547 9359
info.us@worldfuturecouncil.org
www.worldfuturecouncil.org
Pictures in this brochure:cover: Resource Centres on Urban
Agriculture and Food Security,www.ruaf.org
0: Herbert Girardet
1: Paulo Fridman4: Copyright: WTO6: NASAs Goddard Institute
(data source)7: Energy and Food, University of
Michigan, Center for SustainableSystems, www.umich.edu/~ccs(data source)
9: SEKEM, www.sekem.com
11: WFC13: Kelpie Wilson/International BiocharInitiative
14: Herbert Girardet17: Herbert Girardet
Authors:Prof. Herbert Girardet, Dr. Axel BreeDesign: Anja Rohde, Hamburg
Printed by Hilmar Bee, HamburgPrinted on recycled paper.2009
Traditional rice terraces in Bali
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IIn an age of climate change, policies for thesecure supply of food to the world have tobe a major priority for national govern-
ments and the international community.Security and sustainability of food supplyis of the utmost importance for the well-being of an ever increasing world population,and for future generations.
But climate change is a major concern inthis context: If current greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions trends continue, the
Earths mean temperatures could increaseby anything up to 6 C by 2100. Whilstcrop yields in many developed countriesmay benefit from global warming, mostdeveloping countries will face worseningconditions. According to the UN Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO), theAmazon, the Sahel, large parts of India andnorthern China will be particularly badly
hit. Climate change has already started tosignificantly affect agriculture and rurallandscapes: In recent years both droughts
and floods attributed to changing climaticconditions have been getting morepronounced. In the coming decades, rising
temperatures are expected to bring crop-shrinking heat waves, melting glaciers andice sheets, and rising sea levels, with majorconsequences for global food security.
There is no doubt that the modern foodsystem is a major part of the global climateand environment problems we face. It iswell known that it now takes 10 calories of
fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie ofmodern supermarket food. Meanwhile fuelis getting ever more expensive. Theprogressive industrialization of the foodsystem is depleting fossil fuel resources,and it negatively affects the climate,biodiversity, soil conditions, water supplyand -quality as well as human healththrough emissions and hazardous sub-
stances. The FAO estimates that agricultureand forestry account for a third of all GHGemissions.1
1
Introduction
Conversion of Amazon Rainforest into soybean fields is releasing
huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. When the
soybeans are fed to cattle and pigs, methane is produced which
further contributes to climate change.
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Meanwhile the need to assure that all theworlds people are adequately fed isbecoming ever more urgent. The FAOestimates that even today 1.02 billionpeople still suffer from hunger2 probablythe worst disgrace of world politics.3 In thericher countries, a billion people are obese,whilst between 30 to 50 percent of food in
the rich countries is wasted. These numbersmake clear that hunger is not the result ofinsufficient harvest4, but a problem ofallocation. It is important to make aconnection between these issues, and todevelop policies for access to sufficientfood for all people. But meanwhiledeveloping countries have been gettinglittle support for optimizing their farming
practices: during the last 30 years,agricultures share of foreign aid has droppedfrom 17 to 3 percent of total spending.
Now climate change is making it evenmore imperative to rethink the worldsagriculture and food system. As claimedduring the 2009 FAO World Summit onFood Security, governments must take
necessary steps to enable all farmers to adapt to, and mitigate the impact of,climate change through appropriate tech-nologies and practices that improve theresilience of farming systems, thusenhancing their food security.5 Todaypolicy makers cannot afford to neglect therole that the food system plays in theclimate agenda. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) hascalculated a climate change mitigationpotential in the agriculture sector of up to
6.4 Gt CO2 eq per year.6 Our researchindicates that no country has, so far,developed and implemented specificpolicies to reduce greenhouse gasemissions from its food system, or indeedto climate-proof its food policies, thoughin some countries government policieshave indirectly had this effect. Consequent-
ly, in this booklet we present three policyconcepts which effectively combine foodsecurity and climate protection and wealso introduce two theoretical policyproposals:
Organic agriculture: The IPCC foundthat a large share of agricultures tech-nical mitigation potential lies in
enhancing soil carbon sinks throughincrease of organic matter in degradedsoils. To this end governments shouldprovide a policy framework in which anorganic agriculture sector can prosper.Recommended measure include abolitionof detrimental subsidies, support forrecycling organic waste, certification andlabelling schemes, and education and
information about organic farming andfood for both farmers and the generalpublic.Biochar cooking: When biochar produced by low-oxygen combustion ofbiomass is added to soils, its structurecan be enhanced by the biochar carboncontent that can be stored in the soil.Whilst large scale biochar production
from forest plantations is unacceptablefor many reasons, alternative, sustainablesources of biochar are available. The
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distribution and use of small scale bio-char cooking stoves in rural areas cancontribute to sustainable farming as well
as carbon-negative cooking without therelease of dangerous fumes.Urban agriculture: Producing foodlocally, in urban or peri-urban locations,means short transport routes. Less foodmust be processed or deep frozen, andpackaging can also be reduced. Limitingthese activities can substantially reducethe carbon footprint of each meal. To
install a successful urban agriculturesector, governments should enable alarge part of the population to gainaccess and usufruct ownership ofsmall lots of land. Further, cooperativeinitiatives should be supported and seedcenters set up. Cubas urban agriculturepolicy has proved that these measurescan be very effective.
Carbon labelling: The carbon footprintof food products varies considerably.Across the world, consumers play a
major role in shaping the food system,and they must be given better informa-tion on the climate impacts of their foodconsumption habits. This implies muchmore comprehensive consumer informa-tion, including explicit food labelling
policies, particularly in the developedcountries. Labelling schemes can bevoluntary or mandatory. Further, endorse-ment and comparative labels should bedistinguished.In the UK a new private food carbonlabel has been set up recently underwww.climatefriendlyfood.org.uk.Carbon tariff: The IPCC has calculated
that the climate mitigation potential inthe agriculture sector would be greatlyincreased if a price was put on carbonemissions. To this end, emission tradingschemes and carbon taxes might be mostsuitable. An alternative policy instrumentcould be a flexible trade tariff whichinternalises external environmental costs.
The differences in climate, wealth andinfrastructure between regions make itimpossible to propose one-size-fits-allsolutions. It is important to assess theparticular situation at stake, and to developan appropriate policy framework on thisbasis. This booklet and its policy conceptsare intended as food-for-thought as acollection of facts, ideas and proposals that
can be discussed by the stakeholdercommunity, with the potential to beingadopted nationally and internationally.
Farmers markets are making a come-backin Europe. In the US there are now over
4000 across the country.
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Climate change and
its impact on farming
The above map, published by UNEP inFebruary 2009, is a product of many yearsof research by hundreds of climatologistsand agricultural scientists. It clearly showsthat the areas of our world in which most
Projected changes in per cent in agricultural productivity by 2080 due to climate change
Source: WTO, adapted from Cline, 2007.Note that the effects of carbon fertilization are incorporated.
people suffer from hunger, are in general those which are most affected by thenegative impacts of climate change onagricultural productivity.
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S
5
Scientists have alerted global policy makersto the perils of climate change over thecoming decades and it remains to be seenwhether major international agreements canbe reached to avert some of these.
Agriculture is considered to be one of themost vulnerable sectors. The Declaration
of the World Summit on Food fromNovember 2009 stated: Climate changeposes additional severe risks to food securityand the agriculture sector. Its expectedimpact is particularly fraught with dangerfor smallholder farmers in developingcountries, notably the Least DevelopedCountries (LDCs), and for alreadyvulnerable populations.7 In a newly
published report the WTO and UNEP statethat in low-latitude regions, even a smalltemperature increase of 1C would lead toreductions of 510 percent in the yields ofmajor cereal crops. By 2020, crop yields inAfrican countries could fall by up to 50percent.8
Few researchers now dispute that over the
next 100 years, accelerated warming andexpansion of water in the oceans, andincreased melting rates of low-lying glaciersand ice caps are expected to raise sea levelsby a metre or more. This will have majorconsequences for low-lying farmland acrossthe world. For instance, a one metre sealevel rise would affect half the rice land ofBangladesh. A two metre rise would
inundate much of the Mekong Delta inVietnam, the worlds second mostimportant rice exporter, etc. The melting of
mountain glaciers is another global threat.Already the snow caps on Mount Kenyaand Kilimanjaro in East Africa have largelydisappeared. The shrinking of glaciers inthe Himalayas and on the Tibetan plateauis particularly alarming since they feed theIndus, Ganges, Yangtze, Yellow and MekongRivers on whose waters hundreds of millions
of Asian farmers depend.
As GHG concentrations increase and tem-peratures rise, the frequency and intensityof extreme weather events such as cyclones,floods, droughts and heat waves may alsochange. Rising ocean temperatures, inparticular, are expected to affect storm andcyclone development.
Across the world in the last few years,flooding and other extreme weather,attributed to climate change, is affectingfarmers and agriculture. For example:
In 1995, half of Bhola Island, Bangla-desh, became permanently flooded,turning 500,000 people, mainly farmers,
into the worlds first climate refugees.Since 2001, much of the Murray-DarlingBasin, Australias breadbasket, isexperiencing unprecedented droughts.Storage levels will take many years ofabove average rainfall to recover.9
Threats to Ugandas coffee crop areincreasingly threatening the countrysmain export income.
Increasingly erratic monsoons are causingmajor problems for farmers in India.
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M
The climate impacts of
the global food system
6
Modern agriculture is not only a victim ofclimate change, it is also a major contributor,led by countries with highly mechanisedfood supplies. Agriculture is directlyresponsible for almost 14 percent of totalgreenhouse gas emissions, and broader ruralland use decisions have an even larger
impact. Deforestation currently accountsfor an additional 18 percent of emissions.10
Even worse, the global trend is still for evergreater use of fossil fuels, fertilizers andpesticides in agriculture and for long-distancefood trade, increasingly using air freight.
Some people worry about peak oil, but wemay need to worry even more about peak
soil. Globally, some 24 billion tonnes ofsoil erode every year, some 3.5 tonnes perperson. Worldwide soil erosion was estimatedin 1997 to cost in the order of $400 billiona year, or half the worlds military budget atthat time.11 Soil erosion is contributing toincreases in GHG concentrations andreduced soil carbon storage.
In this context, a historical perspectiveneeds to be considered: Professor Rattan
Lal (Ohio State University) has beenresearching the connections between landuse changes and the transfer of carbon intothe atmosphere for many years. Heestimates that since the beginnings ofagriculture up to 250 billion tonnes ofcarbon have been released by land use
changes,12 an amount similar to thequantities of carbon discharged by theburning of fossil fuels over the last 200years. These huge reductions of carbon heldin soils and vegetation have resulted from
deforestation,loss of soil organic matter andbiodiversity andaccelerated soil erosion.
Soil erosion by water, wind and tillageaffects both agricultural potential and thewider natural environment. It is probablythe least well-known of todays majorenvironmental problems and the resultingreduction of soil carbon storage needs to bereversed by appropriate national and inter-national policies. Regarding GHG emissions,
the discharge of methane by the worldsfarm animals is also very significant:
Methane emissions
per animal per year
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The global food system as a whole isestimated to produce nearly 40 percent oftotal carbon emissions encompassingGHG release from the conversion of forestto farmland, all aspects of food production,as well as the transportation and processingof food. This huge climate impact obvious-
ly has major implications for food policyand consumption habits. An increasinglyimportant component is the connectionbetween rising affluence and meat con-sumption. Methane discharges from animalhusbandry have been increased significantlybecause of the trend for every greater use ofgrains as fodder, particularly for cattle. Thetraditional practice of relying on grass as
the main source of cattle fodder had farless climate impact. Livestock farming nowgenerates 18 percent of the planets green-house gas emissions. By comparison, allthe worlds cars, trains, planes and boatsaccounted for a combined 13 percent ofgreenhouse gas emissions.13
Another major concern is the vast amount
of fossil fuel energy that goes into produ-cing, packaging, transporting, storing andcooking food. For example, in the UK, halfthe vegetables and 95 percent of all fruitsare imported.14 Buying from local farmers,vegetables only have to travel about 100kms or less. Many organisations emphasisebuying organic and purchasing produce atthe local farmers market to save on trans-
portation and packaging, but this graphshows that the largest energy expenseoccurs after food arrives in the home.15
Energy and food production in the US:
Use Percent total energy use
Food Retail 4 %
Packaging 7 %
Restaurants/Caterers 7 %Transport 14 %
Processing 16 %
Agricultural Production 21 %
Home Refrigeration/Preparation 32 %
Reducing the impacts of farming on theglobal climate is one of the greatest policychallenges facing humanity. So far theglobal trend is for ever more mechanisedfarming, greater distance between foodproducer and consumer, ever morepackaging and greater meat consumption.There is no question that these inter-
connected trends must be addressed ina world threatened by climate chaos.
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A
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The climate mitigation
potential of agriculture
Agriculture now extends to about half theworlds land surface. With the right policymeasures, farmland can play a crucial roleas a carbon sink. Until now, the main thrustof trying to manage greenhouse gases byland use has been to increase CO
2
sequestration by trees and plants throughcarbon storage in biomass. But thepotential for sequestering carbon in soils is
still underexposed. Soils are already thelargest carbon reservoir of the terrestrialcarbon cycle. The 4th IPCC AssessmentReport found that 89 percent of agri-cultures carbon mitigation potential can beachieved through increase of organic matterin degraded soils and by use of carbon-neutral bio-energy.16
Techniques such as agroforestry and organicagriculture require less tilling of the landand thus keep more carbon stored in thesoil. By introducing policies for helpingfarmers with access to up-to-date know-ledge and tools, the clearing of naturalhabitats for agriculture can be prevented,and forests and grasslands can be keptintact as vital carbon sinks.
To better exploit this potential, morepolicies to support organic low-carbon
agriculture need to be adopted. In thefollowing, we present and discuss differentpolicy approaches to sequester greenhousegases by better agricultural practices.
Organic solutions for
mitigation
Agricultural carbon sequestration has thepotential to substantially mitigate globalwarming impacts. According to the RodaleInstitute, organic agriculture, if practiced onthe planets 3.5 billion tillable acres, couldsequester nearly 40 percent of current CO
2
emissions.We call this approach regenerative organic
agriculture to signify its focus on renewingresources through complementary biologi-cal systems which feed and improve thesoil as well as avoiding harmful syntheticinputs.17
Regenerative organic farming, focused onenhancing long-term biological inter-actions, turns soil into a carbon reservoir,
while conventional farming with largechemical imputs has the opposite effect ofreleasing carbon into the atmosphere. In
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addition, organic management also changesthe structure of the soil, improving itsability to store water and deliver nutrientsto plants over time as soil carbon levelscontinue to increase. Rodale research showsthat no-till organic farming can reduce theenergy input into farming by about 70
percent. Further, organic food offers healthadvantages and has become a lifestylechoice in many societies. For these inter-connected reasons, much more policyassistance for the organic sector is needed.
Case studies (UNCTAD 200818, IFOAM200819) have shown that the developmentof organic farming has, so far, been initiated
mainly by NGOs or private companies.
SEKEM An Egyptian
pioneer in organic farming
In 1977, Dr. Abouleish, a member of the
World Future Council, initiated
SEKEM, cultivating desert areas near
Cairo using sustainable agricultural
practices. By 2009 SEKEMs work
extended to 4500 hectares and directly
involves 2000 people. Moreover circa
30,000 people from the surroundingcommunity make use of the cultural and
social services offered by the SEKEM
Development Foundation and other
related NGOs.
An important point is that SEKEMs
agricultural practices are helping to
tackle climate change. Firstly they emit
less greenhouse gases by avoiding theuse of chemical fertilizers and due to
lower needs for irrigation. Organic
practices introduced by SEKEM led to
a reduction of synthetic pesticides in
Egypt by over 90 percent, from over
35,000 tons per year. Secondly, the
healthy soils built up by the application
of organic material store much higher
levels of carbon than conventional
agricultural soils that are cultivated by
using chemical fertilizers. Thirdly,
SEKEMs farming practices also help
farmers to adapt to effects of climate
change such as droughts and heavy
rainfall. The average yield of raw cotton
was increased by almost 20 percent.20
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Still, governments should play an impor-tant role in providing a supportive frame-work for organic farming. Policy strategiesshould consist of a combination of marketsupply and demand measures.21 Sinceappropriate measures depend on the stateof the organic agriculture market in the
respective country, an in-depth integratedassessment of existing agriculture policiesshould be the first step.22 Based on thisinitial assessment a selection of policiesshould be considered:
On the supply side, a policy priority mustbe the critical stocktaking of all agriculturesubsidies (e.g. for chemical fertilizer)looking at overproduction, health andenvironment hazards and climate impli-cations. If socially feasible, and withoutrisking the food security of a given country,detrimental subsidies must be abolishedand partially transferred into the organicagriculture sector.
An area particularly worthy of state supportis the recycling of urban bio-waste intoorganic fertilizers23. This contributes tosanitation and environmental protection,and it provides carbon storing materials forfarms. To trigger this process, governmentscould give financial incentives (e.g. low-interest loans) to recycling plant operators,or to erect recycling plants under statesupervision. A way to directly supportorganic food producers is to compensatethem for certification costs. In Denmark,
Thailand and Malaysia, governmentcertification is for free for farmers, and inTunisia the government covers up to 70percent of certification costs.24 Producerorganizations can be supported to organizeefficient distribution of processed bio-wastes.
On the demand side, government cansupport the development of a domesticorganic standard. More than 70 countrieshave enacted such standards. Governmentsmust carefully assess how appropriatestandards can be initiated and harmonizedwith international reference standards,based on the recommendations of the
International Task Force on Harmonizationand Equivalence in Organic Agriculture.
Government can also play a strong roleregarding consumer education by drawingattention to the health and environmentalbenefits of organic products. To this end,organic agriculture can be introduced to themandatory curriculums in schools anduniversities in agricultural regions25. Localgovernments can also promote organicfoods by allocating space in open marketsand in trade fairs. Integrating organics intopublic procurement (e.g. for schools andhospitals) stimulates market demand andimproves public information and consumerexposure. Finally, if not already existent, acommon label for organic products shouldbe established and promoted.
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Seed sovereignty Navdanya
In her book Soil Not Oil, World Future Council
member Vandana Shiva strongly endorses regenera-
tive organic farming strategies. She makes a connec-
tion between food insecurity, peak oil, and climate
change and examines why any attempt to solve one
without addressing the others will get us nowhere.26
A further component of the book, and the work of her
organisation Navdanya, is to call for seed sovereignty,
assuring that farmers are not forced to rely on seed,
fertilizers and pesticide packages supplied by multi-
national companies. Navdanya has worked with local
communities and organizations, now serving more
than 200,000 farmers from 14 Indian States.
Navdanyas efforts have resulted in the conservation
of more than 2000 rice varieties from all over the
country, including indigenous varieties that have been
adapted over centuries to meet different local
ecological demands. Members have also conserved
31 varieties of wheat and hundreds of millets, pseudo-cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, as well as multi-
purpose plant species, including medicinal plants.
Navdanya has established 34 seed banks across the
country as it believes in operating through a network
of community seed banks in different ecozones of
India, and thus facilitating the rejuvenation of agri-
cultural biodiversity, farmers self-reliance in seed
locally and nationally, and farmers right. Navdanya
has also established a conservation and trainingcentre at its farm in near Dehradoon in Uttarkhand.
In this region more than 70,000 farmers are primary
members of Navdanya. Today, biodiversity conser-
vation programs linked to Navdanya are underway in
Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Orissa, West Bengal, Karnataka, Haryana.
It remains to be seen if and when the Indian govern-
ment may decide to make Navdanyas practices into
government policy.27
Dr. Vandana Shiva,
Founder of Navdanya
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Sustainable biochar
Biochar can be produced by pyrolysis (low-oxygen combustion) of a great variety of
organic materials. The potential benefit ofbiochar as a carbon storage medium inagricultural land is now widely recognised.Its production from monoculture tree plan-tations is vigorously opposed by an inter-national coalition of environment groups.However, biochar produced from forestthinnings, sawdust, agricultural wastes,urban organic wastes or sewage solids is
widely regarded as a sustainable carbonstorage medium and soil conditioner.
On the farm, simple, innovative cookstoves that employ pyrolysis, can enablerural families to cook their food and toproduce biochar at the same time. Thesecooking stoves can burn crop residues andother biomass fuels without releasing CO
2
and other dangerous emissions.
When biochar is added to soils, its structurecan be enhanced, contributing to agriculturalproductivity. A further benefit arises becausebiochar, which contains 7080 percentcarbon, remains in soils for long periods of
time, storing potentially large amounts ofcarbon.28
Although the production costs of pyrolysiscooking stoves are only between h10 andh20, this still makes them unaffordable formost of the targeted market. National andregional governments could, therefore,support the local production, distribution
and installation of biochar cooking stovesin peoples homes. Both NGOs andgovernment agencies can be importantagents in distributing stoves. In addition,there needs to be adequate instruction onthe correct methods of using the stoves andthe resulting biochar.29 Changing habits thathave developed over generations is not aneasy task. Therefore, it is of paramount
importance that substantial efforts bedirected to the training of promoters and tomaking the technology as user-friendly aspossible.
12
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Terra Preta
Use of charcoal as a soil conditioner
has ancient origins, and is best docu-
mented with reference to the terra
preta meaning dark earth in Portu-
guese soils found in parts of theAmazon basin. Much evidence now
exists that charcoal was mixed by
Amazonian Indian cultivators with food
and human wastes to enrich poor and
acidic soils. The predecessors of todays
Amazonian Indians left behind terra
preta soils rich in organic matter in
some 10 percent of the Amazon terri-
tory. Research has shown that charcoal
incorporated in this way can last in the
soil for hundreds to even thousands of
years. Its persistence has attracted the
attention of research scientists who
believe that carbon locked up in the soil
as biochar can prevent the discharge of
CO2into the atmosphere.
Biochar stoves
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LLocavores is a term for those who subsiston produce from their local area. Thelocavore movement encourages consumersto buy from farmers markets or even togrow or pick their own food, arguing thatfresh, local produce is more nutritious andalso taste better.
The issue of local food is one of the most
commonly and enthusiastically embracedof all the issues around localisation. Aparticular challenge is the issue of foodsovereignty for urban areas, given that by2030 an estimated 60 percent of all peoplewill live in cities (FAO, 2009).30 FromBritish allotment gardening, to communitysupported agriculture, to Cuban urbanagriculture, to Japanese rooftop gardens
there are more and more examples of intra-urban and peri-urban areas being trans-formed into productive food-growing land.Producing food locally, even in an urbanenvironment, means short transport routes,less processing and packaging. In the US,these parts of the value chain consumemore than a third of all energy used forfood production. Limiting these activities
can substantially reduce the carbon foot-print of each meal. In addition, urban foodpolicies encourage consumption of
nutritious food, provide food security andsovereignty. Members of the communitycan be become involved. Jobs and occupa-tion, and income opportunities are created.Local agriculture projects create solidarityand purpose among the communities,sustaining morale and help buildingcommunity pride.
To set up an urban agriculture programme,a framework of policies is needed. First,people should be enabled to gain accessand usufruct ownership of land to be used
14
From globavores
to locavores?
Local policy solutions
In Shanghai, and in other Chinese cities,
local vegetable production is still the norm.
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for agriculture purposes. Depending on thesocial structures of the region, land shouldbe leased for free or for a low rent. Thelease of land must be organised and moni-tored by the municipal government, en-couraging a wide range of fruits, vegetables
and spices to be cultivated in the area. Thegardeners and farmers can work on theirown or establish production cooperatives.In addition, they can be organized in looseassociations to facilitate the disseminationof information and technical knowledgeamong themselves, and to exchange seedsand to share tools.
Government should set up informationcenters. These could sell agriculturalsupplies to the public that would otherwisebe difficult to obtain, such as vegetable andmedicinal seeds and seedlings, biologicalpesticides, organic fertilizer and tools. Forsale of the produce, spaces at farmer marketsshould be provided for subsidised rent. Ifnecessary, municipalities have to organise
markets or other sales opportunities. Also,on-site sale should be encouraged. Finally,it must be ensured that produce is sold atprices that are affordable to the localcommunity. This could be made a condi-tion for accepting a farmer to participate inan urban agriculture programme. Helpfulassistance can be provided by NGOs, andorganizations such as the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) whichsupports urban agriculture in its Food inthe City programme.31
Urban agriculture in Havana
After the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the reduction of its imports of
machines, food, and fertilizers in 1989,
Cuba was forced to move towards food
self-sufficiency. When food shortages
due to the lack of fuel for tractors and
lorries caused serious food supply
problems, the government decided to
encourage people to practice agriculture
within Cubas cities. Soon gardens
sprouted up everywhere at housing
estates, schools, community centres,
hospitals and factories.
Cubas urban agriculture program aims
to provide each person with at least 300
grams of fresh vegetables per day.
By 2002, over 35,000 hectares of urban
land were used for the intensiveproduction of fruits, vegetables and
spices. 117,000 people working in Cubas
urban gardens produce over half the
countrys vegetables, fruit, chickens and
rabbits with zero transportation costs.
The main source of compost is bagasse
trucked in from Cubas sugar cane fields
as an organic growing medium. Cubasurban agriculture program provides good
quality seeds, advice on composting,
crop rotations earthworms, and on
dealing with bacterial and fungal
diseases without relying on chemical
pesticides.32Cubas food policies have
been developed out of necessity but
they are highly relevant for a world faced
with the need to assure food security forall in an age of climate change.
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IIt has been shown that the carbon footprintof food products (foodprint) can vary
substantially. Depending on its productionmethod (organic versus chemical), itscontent (meat versus vegetarian or vegan),transport routes (air freight, sea freight orlocal), processing method (fresh versusdeep-frozen) and disposal of residues (useas organic fertilizer versus waste), each fooditem is responsible for a certain amount ofGHG emissions during its life-cycle. Making
this information available to the consumerincreases transparency in the food market,raises awareness of the consumer, createsincentives for the industry to lower its carbonfootprint, and rewards climate friendlyproducts. Consumers should know whetherthe organic kiwi from New Zealand or thehome grown chemically fertilized appledoes more harm to the climate.
In general, environmental labelling hasbeen a success story since the 1980s.Labels, such as the Energy Star, energyefficiency ratings or the Nordic Swan labelhave changed the behaviour of consumersand manufacturers.33 An Eurobarometersurvey showed that for an overwhelmingmajority of Europeans (83 percent) the
impact of a product on the environmentplays an important aspect in theirpurchasing decisions.34
An evaluation of the specific circumstancesof the political and regulatory environment
will determine the best choice in each case.Whereas a mandatory label ensures a broadparticipation, voluntary schemes mighthave a better acceptance in the industry.A food label should be based on total life-cycle emissions, as opposed to consideringonly the use-phase. First examples such asthe Carbon Label of the UK CarbonTrust35 show that this is possible. Possible
are both comparative labels which provideconsumers with product informationthrough use of a specific number (e.g.1kg CO
2) or rating (e.g. AF or 15 stars),
or endorsement labels which prove that theproduct meets certain criteria (e.g. belowaverage carbon footprint).
Implementing new labelling schemes
necessitates conformity assessment proce-dures involving testing, inspection, certifi-cation, accreditation and metrology.36
These processes are essential for theeffective implementation and acceptanceof the scheme.
Carbon labelling policies
16
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The EU Commission has taken a first lookat this issue but, not surprisingly, hasreceived opposition from the foodindustry.37 However, the example of the UK
Carbon Label shows that the concept canbe implemented and, with the assistance ofgovernments and industry, can be establishedon a larger scale.
In the US and the UK new voluntaryschemes are being set up under the termClimate Friendly Farming and Food.38
In Sweden, the first countrywide andcomprehensive food labelling initiative hasbeen launched recently.
17
The Carbon Label Company
The Carbon Label Company was set up
by the Carbon Trust in 2007. Its label is
privately set up and voluntary. The label
shows a footprint icon along with the
total greenhouse gas emissions from
every stage of a products life-cycle,
including production, transportation,
preparation, use and disposal. Its primary
objective is described as to help busi-
nesses to measure, certify, reduce and
communicate the lifecycle greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions of their products
and services, including food and drink.
The secondary objective is to educate
consumers on lowering their carbon
footprints39. The Carbon Trust, along
with the UK Department of the Environ-
ment (Defra), developed a standard
based on PAS 2050 Standard for
assessing GHG emissions of products
and services. PAS 2050 is an internatio-
nally applicable standard, the develop-
ment of which was informed by 20 pilot
projects that examined supply chainsthat stretched across international
borders. In addition, organisations from
40 countries were involved in the
consultation process.40
In and around many US cities, such as here
in the Bronx in New York, local gardening
is increasing rapidly.
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TThe proposals presented here have to besupported by progressive internationalclimate policy. The Fourth AssessmentReport of Working Group III of the IPCCmade it very clear that agriculture is thesector most sensitive to carbon pricingpolicies.41 Whereas the CO
2eq mitigation
potential with a carbon price of below20US$/t is calculated at around oneGtCO2eq/year, this potential wouldincrease three- to fourfold at carbon pricesof
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T
The development of climate-resilientfarming systems is a major challenge forpolicy makers. Around the world, extremeweather conditions are forcing a rethink onland use strategies. It is clear that we needto develop appropriate policies for a food
system designed to feed the world withoutcontributing to the deterioration to thehealth of soils, the contamination of watercourses and detrimental impacts on theglobal climate.
In this brochure we have emphasised, aboveall else, that farmers can be encouraged andeven funded to becomeglobalcarbon
stewards, for the benefit for theirlocalcommunities as well as for the benefit oftheglobalenvironment and climate. Withall that is now known about the challengesof climate change for the global food system,a major paradigm shift in policy incentivesneeds to be implemented across the world.We need policies for a global food systembased on biology, not chemistry, one that
will feed us indefinitely if we treat the soilright. Governments are now obliged to createpolicy incentives for lowering agriculturalgreenhouse gas emissions and expandingcarbon sinks by supporting farmers to:
sequester carbon in agricultural soils byorganic farming and reduced tillage,reduce nitrous oxide emissions through
minimal use of nitrogen fertilizer,capture methane emissions fromanaerobic manure handling facilities,
19
Conclusion: global policies
on food and climate
substitute renewable fuels for gasoline,diesel fuel and natural gas used on thefarm,increase the generation of electricityfrom wind, solar and small-scale hydro,expand the use of practices like hedges,
shelterbelts and forested riparian zones,expand local food supply for localconsumption,support the use of sustainable biocharderived from farm and urban organicwastes.
To this end, this booklet has tried tocompile a first collection of appropriate
policies in this area. All in all, there is stillmuch to do to conceptualise policies thatfully respond to the new challenges ofcreating a sustainable global food system inan age of climate change. The climatenegotiations of the coming years will needto recognise the crucial role of agriculturalsoils and forests in absorbing greenhousegases and assuring global food security.
There is little doubt that policy makersacross the world are beginning to recognisethe need for climate-proof food policies foran ever more environmentally challengedand crowded world. The challenge is totruly cultivate the future: to assuresustainable food supplies from healthyrural communities and soils, and within astable climate for the benefit of present and
future generations, but we have barely begunto understand what this actually means.
8/9/2019 Cultivating the Future Food in the Age of Climate Change
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Sources
1 FAO, Climate Change and Food Security, at 1
(available at www.fao.org/climatechange/16606-1-0.pdf).
2 FAO, The State of Food Insecurity in theWorld, Rome 2009, p. 11.
3 Franz-Theo Gottwald, SchweisfurthFoundation, Munich, private communication
4 FAO, www.fao.org/hunger/en/
5 World Summit on Food Security, November1618, 2009, Declaration, at 2 (available atwww.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/Summit/Docs/Final_Declaration/
WSFS09_Declaration.pdf), p. 5.6 IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers,in Climate Change 2007: Mitigation.Contribution of Working Group III to theFourth Assessment Report, of the IPCC,p. 11.
7 Declaration of the World Summit on FoodSecurity, Rome, 2009, www.fao.org/fileadmin//Summit/Declaration/WSFS09_Declaration.pdf
8 WTO/UNEP, Trade and Climate Change,Geneva 2009, p. 19.
9 Government of South Australia, Drought inthe Murray-Darling basin,www.waterforgood.sa.gov.au//drought-in-the-murray-darling-basin/
10 FAO, Climate Change and Food Security, at 1(available at www.fao.org/climatechange/16606-1-0.pdf).
11 Norman Myers, Environmental services ofbiodiversity, Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Science, VOL Vol 93, 1995
12 Rattan Lal, Soil Conservation for CarbonSequestration, www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/isco/
isco10//K010-R%20Lal.pdf13 www.bbc.co.uk/news/1/hi/magazine/
8329612.stm
14 Caroline Stacey for BBC, Food Miles,available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/foodmiles.shtml
15 www.swivel.com/graphs/show/21368509
16 The WFC supports the wider deployment ofrenewable energies through feed-in tariffs,www.onlinepact.org and Mendona et al,Powering the Green Economy, London 2009.
17 www.rodaleinstitute.org/
18 UNCTAD/UNEP Capacity Building Taskforce on Trade, Environment and Develop-ment, Best Practices for Organic Policy,
2008, p. 16.19 Kllander, I. and Rundgren, G., Building
Sustainable Organic Sectors, IFOAM 2008,pp. 2021.
20 Sekem Group, www.sekem.com
21 Hamm, Groenfeld and Halpin 2002.
22 UNCTAD/UNEP, p. 13.
23 UNCTAD/UNEP, p. 33.
24 Belkheria and Kheder, 2006.
25 Kllander and Rundgren, p. 102.
26 Vandana Shiva, Soil Not Oil, Environmental
Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis, SouthendPress, 2008
27 Navdanya, www.navdanya.org
28 James Bruges, The Biochar Debate,Schumacher Briefing 16, Green Books, 2009
29 WFC, Carbon negative cooking, available athttp://onlinepact.org/?id=1494
30 FAO, Food for the Cities, 2009, at 2;available at ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/ak824e/ak824e00.pdf
31 Ibid.
32 Reuters, Cuba exports city farmingrevolution to Venezuela, 22-4-2003,www.globalexchange.org/countries/cuba/sustainable/651.html
33 WTO/UNEP, p. 124.
34 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1201&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
35 www.carbon-label.com/index.htm
36 WTO/UNEP, p. 122.
37 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.
do?reference=IP/09/1201&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
38 www.climatefriendlyfarming.org, andwww.climatefriendlyfood.org.uk
39 www.carbon-label.com/business/about.htm
40 www.carbon-label.com/business/international.htm
41 IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers,in Climate Change 2007: Mitigation.Contribution of Working Group III to theFourth Assessment Report, of the IPCC,p. 11.
42 Franz-Theo Gottwald and Franz Fischler, eds.,Ernhrung sichern weltweit kosozialeGestaltungsprinzipen, Murmann Verlag, 2007
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The World Future Council brings theinterests of future generations to the
centre of policy making. Its 50 eminent
members from around the globe have
already successfully promoted change.
The Council addresses challenges to
our common future and provides
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and national lawmaking and thus
produces practical and tangible results.
In close cooperation with civil society
actors, parliamentarians, governments,
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organizations we identify best
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advocacy work, supporting decision
makers in implementing those policies.
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With financialsupport of
Heres the book weve been
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