Environment & Agriculture >> Climate : Agriculture's Contribution

Agriculture and the food system are important contributors to climate change. Approximately one-third of greenhouse gas emissions are produced by agriculture and land use changes, with 18 percent of the overall total coming from livestock alone.

See also Climate: Implications for Agriculture

Recommended resources on this topic:

Reports & Other Documents

The Food & Farming Transition: Toward a Post Carbon Food System

Post Carbon Institute, Spring 2009.

Identifying our Climate “Foodprint”: Assessing and Reducing the Global Warming Impacts of Food and Agriculture in the U.S.

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, April 2009.

Global Farm Animal Production and Global Warming: Impacting and Mitigating Climate Change

G. Koneswaran and D. Nierenberg. Environ Health Perspect, May 2008.

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Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming

Rodale Institute, 2008.

Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), April 2008.

Assessment of Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Food System: A Literature Review

Agricultural Sustainability Institute; University of California, Davis; November 2007.

Climate Change and U.S. Agriculture (Issue Brief)

Resources for the Future, November 2007.

Meat and dairy production & consumption: Exploring the livestock sector’s contribution to the

UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and assessing what less greenhouse gas intensive systems of production and consumption might look like.
Food and Climate Research Network, November 2007.

Fruit and vegetables and UK Greenhouse Gas emissions: Exploring the relationship

Food and Climate Research Network, February 2007.

Agriculture and Climate Change: The Policy Context.

World Resources Institute, October 2006.

Agricultural & Forestlands: U.S. Carbon Policy Strategies

A Report for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, September 2006.

Agriculture’s Role in Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

A Report for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, September 2006.

Livestock’s long shadow: environmental issues and options

Food and Agriculture Organization, 2006.

Food, Fuel, and Freeways: An Iowa Perspective on How Far Food Travels, Fuel Usage, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, June 2001.

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Measurement and communication of greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. food consumption via carbon calculators

B. Kim and R. Neff. Ecological Economics, September 2009.

Potential contributions of food consumption patterns to climate change

A. Carlsson-Kanyama and A.D. González. Am J Clin Nutr, May 2009.

Climate benefits of changing diet

E. Stehfest, et al. Climatic Change, February 2009.

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Relevant Organizations

Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.)

Food and Climate Research Network

International Panel on Climate Change

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Additional Tools & Resources

Eat Low Carbon Diet Calculator

Bon Appetit Management Company.

Climate and Farming.org

Educational resources (fact sheets, Powerpoint presentations, etc.).

Climate Change and Agriculture Resource List

Unitarian Service Committee of Canada.

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