Food, Farming and Climate Change
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Modern agricultural methods are responsible for a large amount of the world’s green house gas. But in a different kind of food system, ecologically sensitive agricultural practices can provide a great carbon sink and can play a significant role in both mitigating the effects of climate change and adapting to it. Paradoxically, millions of small scale farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America who are most adversely affected by climate change also hold the keys to address it.
To help you get a better understanding, we have compiled a list of resources for you to explore:
Key issues related to Climate Crisis:
Feeding the Planet: Food: our ability to feed the planet will be in serious danger – but peasant farmers hold the answer.
- IAASTD: The International Assessment of Agricultural Science, Knowledge, and Technology for Development, involving more than 400 scientists, issued a groundbreaking report in 2008 that concludes that our current global food system is in serious trouble and needs a major rethink.
- Pathways to Resilience: A 2008 research paper that examines the role of resilient agriculture systems, and their importance in feeding the world as well as responding to climate change.
- Who Will Feed Us? Released at the Rome Food Summit by ETC Group, this report explores the 2 dominant models of agricultural production and consumption – the industrial food chain and the peasant farmer food web, and concludes that the peasant food web is a far more ecologically and climate friendly, socially just, and resilient system – but it needs more support.
Adaptation and Mitigation: Small farmers with their access to diversity, can help us minimize risks – and provide insurance against climate extremes and unpredictable growing conditions.
The Worldwatch Institute’s Farming and Land Use to Cool the Planet by Sara J. Scherr and Sajal Sthapit argues that small holder farmers, by managing soils, create natures greatest carbon sinks, and can actually cool the planet.
The Seed Map : Food, Farmers, and Climate Chaos – a teaching tool that that shows the state of global agro-biodiversity today. It identifies key threats to the world’s seed and biodiversity systems, particularly the impact of climate change, and highlights regions where institutions and peoples’ movements are working to preserve agricultural biodiversity.
Financing our response to Climate Change.
There is agreement in the global community that we can’t afford NOT to invest in climate solutions, now – and that the cost of investing LATER will be much higher. Second, that those who have contributed most to GHG emissions should pay their fair share to get us all out of this global warming. So, as one of the greatest GHG emitters, what’s Canada’s fair share?
Read Our Fair Share, by the Pembina Institute.
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