Rethinking Agriculture: National Climate Assessment Provides (Another) Reason
from Civil Eats:
Rethinking Agriculture: National Climate Assessment Provides (Another) Reason
By Mia Macdonald on April 30, 2013
Pastoralists in Kenya, rice farmers in India, and industrial feedlot operators in the U.S. have all contended with the increased frequency of drought and erratic weather. New agricultural ideas and actions are essential amid rising climate stress, a growing human population, widespread degradation of ecosystems, and rampant food insecurity; nearly one billion people regularly dont get enough to eat.
Agriculture isnt just affected by the effects of climate change. Its also a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. agricultural sector was responsible in 2011 for 7.2 percent of U.S. GHGs. This doesnt include emissions from indirect agricultural activities, like clearing grasslands or forests to create farmland, or the fossil fuels burned when transporting agricultural products.
U.S. agriculture is heavily tilted toward large-scale, resource-intensive production of animals and the corn and soybeans that feed them. Corn, soybeans, and hay are the U.S.s three largest crops. It might be hard to believe, but less than 2 percent of U.S. farm acres grow vegetables or pulses (beans and legumes) and less than 2 percent are planted with fruit or tree nuts.
The U.S. food system is also vulnerable to global warming. The draft National Climate Assessment, prepared by more than 200 scientists for the U.S. government and recently released for public comment, says this: Production of all commodities will be vulnerable to direct impacts from changing climate conditions on crop and livestock development and yield. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://civileats.com/2013/04/30/rethinking-agriculture-national-climate-assessment-provides-another-reason/