Food & Environment

Food & Environment

1. Impact of food production on the environment

   • ploughing
     • sewing seeds
       • fertilizers
         • farm machinery
           • transporting crops and final products
             • washing
               • manufacturing
                 • packaging
                   • Global temperature may rise by 4C by end of century. (IPCC, 2007)

2. Impact of food production greenhouse gas (GHG) emission

   • modern food system depends on fossil fuels- natural gas for fertilisers and oil for farming machinery
     • EU- 10%
       • UK -22%
         • Ireland- 28%
           • due to large number of ruminant livestock
     • Livestock provides 18% of all GHG emission

3. Key green house gases (GHG)

   • Carbon Dioxide (CO2)- 85% of UKs global warming contribution
     • Methane (CH4)- digestion of cellulose, global warming potential 23x higher than CO2
       • Nitrous oxide (N2O)- from land fertlisers, 296x higher than CO2
         • Flurocarbons- used in refrigeration
           • world per capita meat consumption has double since 1960s

4. Impact of food production on water usage

   • 85% global freshwater consumption for agriculture
     • 5000L virtual water consumed per head per day
       • Maize- 900m3 per tonne
         • Wheat- 1300m3 per tonne
           • Husked rice- 3000m3 per tonne
             • Coffee- 20,000m2 per tonne
               • Beef- 15,000m2 per tonne

5. Water in food manufacturing

   • as a product (bottled, juice)
     • Processing: boiling, washing, cleaning, steaming
       • 8-15% of all water used in industry in Europe

6. Impact of food production on soil quality

   • soil highly, complex mix of small rock particles, organic matter, water, bacteria, nematodes, fungi and water vapour
     • takes 3000- 12000 years to produce enough soil to form productive land
       • intensive farming has depleted soil quality- minerals
         • poorly irrigated/ drained land leads to build up of salt- poison soil

7. Soil erosion

   • over cultivation/ over grazing can break down physical structure of the soil
     • as can wind/ water erosion
       • 16% total land area of EU affected by soil degradtion
         • ploughing is a major contributor to soil erosion
           • new low impact system. e.g no till (tickles the soil just enough to plant seed)

8. Impact of food production on biodiversity

   • depletion of plants and animal
     • destruction of habitats loss of genetic diversity
       • vulnerability to pests and disease
         • loss of potential food and medical crops
           • decline in variability in ecosystem

9. Energy and oil

   • developed countries 10-14% total energy used is in food production
     • oil predominant fuel in food production
       • 1/2 energy to process and produce food comes from oil
         • prices likely to rise in real terms by 35% by 2035 - with currently rise in food price

10. Food miles

    • distance food travels within the UK +50% in 20 years
      • Air transport uses 37x more fuel than shipping
        • Road freight uses 4x the energy of rail
          • In 2000, the average food item in the US had travelled 2400-3200km

11. Impact of environmental change on food production

    • not just food production which effects the environment
      • changes in environment are and will continue to affect food production
        • rise in ground level temperature
          • may see increase yields of some crop + decrease
            • erratic weather patterns and rainfall could cause crop failures

12. Food production impact on the environment

    • energy- oil
      • GHG
        • land clearance
          • biodiversity
            • soil quality
              • water availability