It is estimated that 1/3 of greenhouse gases are from our agriculture system. They are being emitted in every step of food production from seed to plate.

Conventional agriculture is fossil fuel intensive and depends on a variety of chemical inputs, machinery, and fossil fuels. It is estimated that the production of food accounts for the large majority of agriculture emissions— more than 80% by recent estimates. Most of these—about 40%—come from the chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in conventional agriculture, which are very energy intensive to create. All told, the production of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides contributes more than one trillion pounds of GHG emissions to the atmosphere globally each year. That’s the same amount of emissions that are generated by 88 million passenger cars each year, more than the total number of cars in India, China, Australia, Canada, and Mexico. As a result, soil management, including synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, accounts for about 2/3 of all domestic nitrous oxide emissions.
 

And it’s not only crop production that’s producing greenhouse gas emissions. The meat that we eat is the largest food contributor to climate change! In the U.S., livestock accounts for 1/3 of methane emissions—more than any other sector. Globally, the United Nations has estimated that the multiple inputs of animal production results in nearly 1/5 of all greenhouse gases worldwide—more than the entire transportation sector.

The average conventional food product travels about 1,500 miles to get to your grocery store. Between 2002 and 2008 the number of farmers markets in the U.S. increased by nearly 50%, providing significantly more options to find locally grown food.

It takes 7-10 times more energy to produce your food than is contained in the food itself.

350.org is an international climate change campaign calling for a fair Copenhagen climate treaty that meets the latest science. 350ppm represents the safe upper limit of CO2 in our atmosphere. Take part in your
community on 24 October, 2009: An International Day of Climate Action. Visit www.350.org or contact organizers@350.org to get involved.