We must transform food production to save the world, says leaked report
Source: The Observer
We must transform food production to save the world, says leaked report
Cutting carbon from transport and energy ‘not enough’ IPCC finds
Robin McKie
Sun 4 Aug 2019 09.00 BST First published on Sat 3 Aug 2019 13.00 BST
Attempts to solve the climate crisis by cutting carbon emissions from only cars, factories and power plants are doomed to failure, scientists will warn this week.
A leaked draft of a report on climate change and land use, which is now being debated in Geneva by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), states that it will be impossible to keep global temperatures at safe levels unless there is also a transformation in the way the world produces food and manages land.
Humans now exploit 72% of the planet’s ice-free surface to feed, clothe and support Earth’s growing population, the report warns. At the same time, agriculture, forestry and other land use produces almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, about half of all emissions of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, come from cattle and rice fields, while deforestation and the removal of peat lands cause further significant levels of carbon emissions. The impact of intensive agriculture – which has helped the world’s population soar from 1.9 billion a century ago to 7.7 billion – has also increased soil erosion and reduced amounts of organic material in the ground.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/03/ipcc-land-use-food-production-key-to-climate-crisis-leaked-report
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I bought that bumper sticker at the turn of the century. 
From the article: The chances of politicians and scientists achieving these goals are uncertain, however.
Actually, I think it's pretty certain that nothing of significance will be done in time. Instead, the rich will hoard as many resources as they can in their million dollar bunkers & tell themselves that when the rest of us die off they'll have the world to themselves. They are in denial how hot the planet already is & the changes that are already coming down the pike, even if half of the population disappeared tomorrow.
A few weeks ago there was that other article about how corn & soy don't do so well in hot climate & how the nutritional value of rice declines with heat. Everyday I remind myself that I won the human lottery in terms of when & where I was born & what I experienced.
