Food consumption in the five countries with the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including India, was responsible for more than 40 percent of global food supply chain emissions in 2019, according to a study.
Actions to protect the planet from the effects of climate change will not work unless emissions from the global food system, which now account for a third of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, are reduced, research published in the journal Nature Food has found.
The largest increase in emissions in food chains is driven by the consumption of beef and dairy products in fast-growing countries such as China and India, while per capita emissions in developed countries with a high percentage of animal foods have fallen, the researchers said.
The team noted that global population growth and increasing demand for high-emissions foods are likely to increase emissions further. “A global shift in diet, including limiting excess red meat intake and improving the proportion of vegetable protein, will not only reduce emissions but prevent health risks such as obesity and cardiovascular disease,” said corresponding author of the study, Professor Klaus Hubáček from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Yuli Shan of the University of Birmingham in the UK noted that the agri-food system drives global land use and agricultural activity – contributing to around one-third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gases.
“Population growth, the expansion of food production and the rise of animal diets are likely to further increase emissions and squeeze the global carbon budget,” said Shan, corresponding author of the study. The study’s first author, Yanxian Li, Ph.D. A student at the University of Groningen said that mitigating emissions at every stage of the food chain from production to consumption is critical if we are to limit global warming. “However, large-scale and lasting dietary changes are very difficult to achieve quickly, so incentives that encourage consumers to cut back on red meat or buy products with higher environmental dividends could help reduce food emissions,” Li said. (PTI)
The researchers analyzed data linking emissions to consumers from 2000 to 2019 and found that in 2019, food consumption in the top five emitting countries, China, India, Indonesia, Brazil and the US, was responsible for more than 40 percent of the global food supply. chain emission.
Annual global greenhouse gas emissions associated with food have increased by 14 percent over 20 years. A substantial increase in the consumption of animal products has contributed to about 95 percent of the global increase in emissions, accounting for nearly half of total food emissions, the researchers said.
Beef and dairy products contributed 32 percent and 46 percent to the increase in global animal emissions, they said.
Grain and oilseed consumption are responsible for 43 and 23 percent of global plant emissions, respectively, while rice contributes more than half of global grain-related emissions, with Indonesia, China and India the top three contributors.
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