1. Food is an Energy Issue
Getting to a Sustainable and Climate-Friendly
Food and Farming System
Heather Schoonover
CERTs Conference, February 11, 2009
St. Cloud, Minnesota

2. Climate and the Food Cycle
Processing
Retail
Agricultural Production
Transportation
Consumption
Disposal

3. Production
•Fertilizer
•Livestock
•Tillage
•Crops
•Fuel
•Chemicals
•Irrigation
•Heat/cooling
•Electricity

4. Processing
•Refrigeration
•Packaging
•Additives
•Electricity
•Heat/cooling

5. Transportation
From field all the
way to disposal –
“Food Miles”
•Truck
•Ship
•Train
•Car
•Airplane

6. Retail
•Refrigeration
•Packaging
•Heat/cooling
•Electricity
•Advertising
•Waste/disposal

7. Consumption
•Transport
•Refrigeration
•Storage
•Waste/disposal

8. Disposal
25%-30% of
food in the U.S.
is wasted
•Methane release
•Landfill costs
•Incineration

9. Breakdown of the Food System
Disposal
Disposal
10%
10%
Consumption
Consumption
15%
15%
Transportation
Transportation
Production
Production
7%
7%
60%
60%
Processing
Processing
8%
8% From: Weber and Matthews (2008),
Carlsson-Kanyama (2003), FCRN (2007),
Dutilh (2004), Kramer et al (1999)

10. Breakdown of the U.S. Diet
Red meat and dairy make up almost
half of our dietary GHGs
Food is 13% of a household’s GHG impact
Weber and Matthews (2008)

11. Organic or Conventional?
Conventional no-till reduces soil
Organic farming practices build soil
GHG emissions, but generally
organic matter but often utilize
depends upon chemical use for
tillage which releases GHGs
weed control and does little to
build soil organic matter

12. Grass or Grain?
Grass-fed beef and dairy products have lower GHG emissions
than grain-fed beef and dairy products, but grazing reduces
ability to capture methane from manure

13. Local versus Imported
Local production reduces …but less intensive production
transport costs and GHG methods generally override
emissions… reduced transportation GHG
benefits

14. How to Make the Biggest Impact
• Avoid use of synthetic fertilizers
• Reduce and compost/digest food waste
• Shift from grain-fed to grass-fed meat
production
• Manage manure: compost for fertilizer or
capture methane for power generation
• Avoid irrigation and fossil fuels – look to
solar/wind/renewables for heat and energy
• Reduce transport

15. Climate and Food Resources
-“Local Foods and Climate Change: An
Annotated Resource” available now at
www.iatp.org
-“Blueprint for a Climate Friendly Local
Food System” available soon at
www.iatp.org
- Try Bon Appetit’s new food carbon
footprint calculator.
www.eatlowcarbon.org/Carbon-Calculator.html

16. Thank You
Heather Schoonover
Local Foods Program
Institute for Agriculture
and Trade Policy
(612) 870-3450
hschoonover@iatp.org
www.iatp.org