Meat, monopolies, mega farms: how the US food system fuels climate crisis
Food and the climate crisis are locked in a tangled web of cause and effect. Globally, food systems contribute about a third of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet they are also uniquely vulnerable to climate impacts: from soaring temperatures and drought to intense rainfall and flooding.
Food production is caught in a battle between people and profits, as an increasingly industrialized system prioritizes low operating costs and high profits. In the US, nearly 40 million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from and food workers are some of the lowest paid in the country. Agriculture contributes less than 1% to GDP in the US – yet it is responsible for 11% of the country’s GHG emissions, polluted waterways and millions of acres of degraded land.
“The US is such a huge contributor to climate change and we’re doing so pathetically little to address it, particularly in agriculture,” said Raj Patel, professor of public affairs at the University of Texas, Austin, and IPES-Food expert.
Here we look at five of the biggest food and climate challenges facing the US.
Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/30/us-food-production-climate-crisis-meat-monopoly-farming
