[Foodplanning] Greenhouse gas emissions and food

[Elbert van Donkersgoed]

The attached study is not specifically focussed on greenhouse gas emissions
but by focussing on energy it covers a big part of the question raised by
others on this list.

Greetings & Shalom,
Elbert van Donkersgoed P. Ag. (Hon.)
Executive Director
Greater Toronto Area Agricultural Action Committee
1000 Murray Ross Parkway
Downsview ON  M3J 2P3
416-661-6600 ext 5282
evandonkersgoed at gtalocalfood.ca
Home Office: 519-763-2589
elbert at gtalocalfood.ca
www.gtalocalfood.ca

"Enhancing and Energizing the GTA Local Food System"


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Today's Topics:

   1. Greenhouse gas emissions and food (Bruce Wiggins)
   2. Re: Greenhouse gas emissions and food (Krys Cail)
   3. Re: Greenhouse gas emissions and food (Laura Davis)


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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:48:09 -0600
From: Bruce Wiggins <Bruce_Wiggins at kcmo.org>
Subject: [Foodplanning] Greenhouse gas emissions and food
To: foodplanning at u.washington.edu, dglosser at insightbb.com,
	jlkaufma at wisc.edu, 	martyk at allspecies.org, terryw at kcnet.com
Message-ID:
	<OFC4B181C1.2ED8CAB9-ON862573BF.0076CF7D-862573BF.0077C423 at kcmo.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"



Does anyone have any reliable data on greenhouse gas emissions from food
production and related, including processing and transportation?  Maybe
even including methane from bovines.  I have found data on GHG emissions
from transportation (according to one source, the fastest growing sector
for GHG emissions) and energy use in buildings (as I recall from some
sources, the largest single source of energy use -- approaching 50%
including construction and heating/cooling [yes, I know energy use is not
the same as GHG emissions]).  I think I have seen some articles that "buy
local" is preferable to "buy organic" if the organic food comes from a long
distance.  If there is good data available on any of this, please let us
know.

bw
______________________________
Bruce G. S. Wiggins AICP
American Institute of Certified Planners
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Senior Planner
City of Kansas City, MO
City Planning and Development Dept.
Phone 816.513.2835

Please rate our customer service: http://216.62.88.52
/coldfusionapps/cityplansurvey/surveyform.cfm
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 09:16:10 -0500
From: "Krys Cail" <KLC32 at cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: [Foodplanning] Greenhouse gas emissions and food
To: "Bruce Wiggins" <Bruce_Wiggins at kcmo.org>
Cc: martyk at allspecies.org, terryw at kcnet.com,
	foodplanning at u.washington.edu
Message-ID:
	<8364997f0712290616g72cdfdceoafe0e06e3e67127a at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

In my opinion, this is precisely the data we lack, due primarily to the
general disinterest of funders in this area of inquiry.  This is exacerbated
by a "discipline rift" between agriculture and planning, and industrial
process engineering, and transport/distribution.  The energy use involved in
keeping the food "on display" in retail grocery stores and restaurants also
matters to a good calculation-- I guess those are retail grocer
business-management folks who do that.

Our food system needs comprehensive analysis.  If anyone is aware of funding
institutions with an interest in examining this, particularly for the East
Coast US megalopolis, I would be grateful for information and/or
opportunities to collaborate.  Am currently working with a colleague on a
small NE SARE grant to map farmers' and small-scale processors' locations in
a thirty and sixty mile radius of Ithaca, NY, with a qualitative component
involving asking farmers with some wholesale capacity if they are interested
in scaling operations or cooperating with other farmers to grow more
specialty (vegetables and fruits) crops in the Finger Lakes region of NY.
Energy use and costs will be considered re: the advisability or possibility
of small organic farmers currently selling primarily through CSAs and
farmers' markets ramping up production sufficiently to meet growing
institutional and wholesale market opportunities.  Based on an expectation
of increased fuel costs, this development of closer-to-the-East Coast
production capacity is a prudent economic development direction, but, if
there are underlying data that estimate potential energy and/or energy cost
savings by relocating some wholesale specialty crop production in East Coast
soil, I have not been able to find them.  Would certainly appreciate being
alerted to work being done on this.

That said, I'm not sure that a lack of analysis should hold us back from
redesign.  The push of market factors (energy cost) in concert with
reasonable precaution (governmental interest in reducing emissions) should
result in interlocking incentives to favor the development of more
energy-efficient, less emissions-producing food systems.  Given the
immediacy of the need to take on the problems associated with global climate
change, good redesign could scale up pretty quickly if there were not
perverse incentives provided by government (i.e., subsidized electricity for
components of energy-inefficient food system components, such as a Walmart
warehouse for shelf-stable highly-processed not-very-healthful foods).

Krys
On 12/28/07, Bruce Wiggins <Bruce_Wiggins at kcmo.org> wrote:

>

> Does anyone have any reliable data on greenhouse gas emissions from food

> production and related, including processing and transportation? Maybe

even

> including methane from bovines. I have found data on GHG emissions from

> transportation (according to one source, the fastest growing sector for

GHG

> emissions) and energy use in buildings (as I recall from some sources, the

> largest single source of energy use -- approaching 50% including

> construction and heating/cooling [yes, I know energy use is not the same

as

> GHG emissions]). I think I have seen some articles that "buy local" is

> preferable to "buy organic" if the organic food comes from a long

distance.

> If there is good data available on any of this, please let us know.

>

> bw

> ______________________________

> Bruce G. S. Wiggins AICP

> American Institute of Certified Planners

> @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

> Senior Planner

> City of Kansas City, MO

> City Planning and Development Dept.

> Phone 816.513.2835

>

> Please rate our customer service:

> http://216.62.88.52/coldfusionapps/cityplansurvey/surveyform.cfm

>

> _______________________________________________

> Foodplanning mailing list

> Foodplanning at u.washington.edu

> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/foodplanning

>

>



-- 
Krys Cail
3110 DuBois Rd.
Ithaca, NY   14850
(607) 342-5679
email:  KLC32 at Cornell.edu, Krys.Cail at gmail.com
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Message: 3
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:01:51 +0000
From: Laura Davis <ladybird.athome at phonecoop.coop>
Subject: Re: [Foodplanning] Greenhouse gas emissions and food
To: "Krys Cail" <KLC32 at cornell.edu>
Cc: terryw at kcnet.com, martyk at allspecies.org,
	foodplanning at u.washington.edu
Message-ID: <2ba50005d858a16d5af57cee5f0e40f6 at phonecoop.coop>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

Hi

I think there are some useful data in the UK and Europe on the food 
chain and greenhouse gas emissions/carbon footprints.  You could begin 
at www.defra.gov.uk, I think you may find some useful links there.  
This is not my primary area but I am aware that there are data that are 
quoted a lot recently, for example that food production. distribution 
and consumption have a greater carbon footprint than aviation, that 
food in schools is responsible for 20% of their CO2 emission etc.

Regards
Laura Davis
43 Tree Lane
Iffley
Oxford
OX4 4EY

01865 747402
07913 424731



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