Agriculture posts, articles, and infographics

Advanced biofuels could create millions of jobs while greening the economy

January 26, 2012 by Annegrethe Jakobsen
with 361 views

A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance - launched during World Economic Forum at Davos - estimates the socioeconomic prospects of deploying advanced biofuels in eight of the highest agricultural-producing regions in the world, i.e. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, EU-27, India, Mexico and the USA.The report was commissioned... [read more]

Feeding 10 Billion in 2050′s Sauna (Part III)

December 23, 2011 by Barry Brook
with 280 views

What future for agriculture on a hotter planet? Guest Post by Geoff Russell. Geoff is a mathematician and computer programmer and is a member of Animal Liberation SA. His recently published book is CSIRO Perfidy. His previous article on BNC was: Feeding the billions on a hotter planet (Part II) —————— Welcome to... [read more]

Feeding 10 Billion on a Hotter Planet (Part II)

December 22, 2011 by Barry Brook
with 345 views

Guest Post by Geoff Russell. Geoff is a mathematician and computer programmer and is a member of Animal Liberation SA. His recently published book is CSIRO Perfidy. His previous article on BNC was: Feeding the billions in 2050′s sauna (Part I) —————— Welcome to Part II of my presumptuously titled series on... [read more]

Feeding Earth's Billions in the 2050 Sauna (Part I)

December 21, 2011 by Barry Brook
with 356 views

During the past few years, all the world’s major science journals have had a steady stream of papers on the challenge of feeding 9 to 10 billion people on a warming planet in 2050. They have been joined by reports from bodies with varying prestige and influence like International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The World Bank and the Royal Society. CSIRO has a long history of interest in the issue and even billionaire packager Anthony Pratt is getting in on the act telling Australia that since it can produce food for 200 million people, it has a responsibility to do so. [read more]

Understanding the Water- Energy- Food Nexus

November 4, 2011 by Lou Grinzo
with 244 views

“Understanding the Nexus”, Water Energy Food Nexus, Bonn 2011: Background paper for the Bonn2011 Nexus Conference is now available This paper for the Bonn 2011 Conference presents initial evidence for how a nexus approach can enhance water, energy and food security in a green economy by increasing efficiency, reducing trade-offs, and... [read more]

Peanut Butter, Climate Change and Social Justice

October 20, 2011 by Katherine Friedrich
with 301 views

Climate change has precipitated another sticky situation: shortages of peanuts. That may also mean shortages of peanut sauce, which disappears from our refrigerator rapidly. The Google search I did this morning says no one has written about this problem from a vegetarian or working class angle yet. Peanut butter is a staple source of... [read more]

Food for Fuel, Again

October 14, 2011 by Lou Grinzo
with 405 views

The U.S. Now Uses More Corn For Fuel Than For Feed: For every 10 ears of corn that are grown in the United States today, only 2 are consumed directly by humans as food. The remaining 8 are used in almost equal shares for animal feed and for ethanol. And, for the 12 months from August 2011 to 2012, the U.S. biofuels industry used more... [read more]

PB&J Scarcity? Record Heat Drives Up Peanut Butter Prices

October 13, 2011 by Joseph Romm
with 208 views

“The drought conditions should sure that have plagued farmers this growing season have taken a toll on the area’s peanut crop. Withered blooms, burned pods and few undeveloped peanuts define this year’s peanut crop for many area farmers.” (Photo/Jaine Treadwell) First, we heard that climate change could decimate the chocolate... [read more]

Farmers Harvesting The Power of Solar Energy

September 29, 2011 by Silvio Marcacci
with 636 views

The Sun’s rays have always been the foundation of farming, giving crops the energy they need to grow. But a program by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now matching up farmers with grants and incentives to help them harvest a new kind of crop – solar-powered electricity. [read more]

Thoughts on 10 Questions about Climate Change from Australia

September 10, 2011 by David Hone
with 1,120 views

Image source: Author's blog

Over recent weeks, one of the major Australian newspapers has asked readers to submit questions on climate change and, at the same time, opened a poll so that all readers could vote on the questions they most wanted to see answered. The newspaper pledged to investigate and attempt to answer the top ten questions. The poll closed last weekend and the questions are now in. Without getting too lengthy, and also drawing on many previous postings, here are some my thoughts on the ten questions. [read more]

Risk to Livestock During Heat Waves

August 22, 2011 by Dan Huber
with 208 views

Cattle deaths have been mounting in the central U.S. as the recent heat wave has pushed heat indices above 120 degrees in a number of states. Faced with dry pastures, rapidly depleting hay supplies and drought stressed surface water sources, ranchers in Texas are engaging in a significant livestock sell-off, referred to in one... [read more]

Biotech Food For a Warming Planet

July 28, 2011 by Marc Gunther
with 270 views

Climate change is here, folks, and I’m not saying so because it’s hot outside. This is a big worry, or at least it should be. But big problems create big business opportunities: A California biotech company called Arcadia Biosciences has set out to help farmers do their part to slow down the process of global warming and adapt to a... [read more]

The Climate Impacts Of Different Foods

July 21, 2011 by Simon Donner
with 314 views

Earlier this week, the Environmental Working Group, a research and lobby group in DC, released a report on the “environment” and "health" impact of different foods. It found that lamb is the worst offender, followed by grain-fed beef, pork, cheese and farmed salmon. The report was brought to my attention by a writer at the Huffington... [read more]

Meat: Bad For You, Bad For The Climate

July 19, 2011 by Marc Gunther
with 1,050 views

Of all the things that an individual can do to help slow the process of climate change–change lightbulbs, turn down the AC, ride a bike–few if any have as much impact as eating less meat. So, at least, says the Environmental Working Group in its new Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health. Yes, this is a guide for meat... [read more]

Heat Waves Destroy Crop Harvests

July 7, 2011 by Jonathan Smith
with 310 views

This blog had noted again concern that a few freaky climatologists have about underestimating the impact of a critical tipping point.. Lester Brown relates the concern from an agricultural perspective: Rising temperatures are already melting the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Recent studies indicate that a combination of... [read more]