Context: As per a new study, one-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are linked to food.

About the Study

• The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR)-Food by the European Commission categorised emissions data by sector, greenhouse gas and country.
• The study draws on global database that provides estimates of food system greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2015.
• It incorporated key land-use data compiled by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Major Highlights

• The study found that food-system emissions represented 34 per cent of the total greenhouse gas output in 2015.
• The global greenhouse gas emissions are higher for developing countries.
• Land-use change and agricultural production to packaging, fertilizer use and waste all contribute to the emissions and were estimated at 18 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015 (34 per cent).
• The emissions are down from 44 per cent in 1990, indicating a gradual decline even as food systems emissions kept increasing.
• The share of emissions from the food system of a country ranged between 14 per cent and 92 per cent.
• In industrialised countries, roughly 24 per cent of total emissions came from their food systems, a number that has stayed fairly stable between 1990 and 2015.
• Asia was the highest contributor producing 35 per cent of global food system emissions in 1990 and 49 per cent in 2015.

Biggest contributors

• Fertilizers were the leading contributor to overall food-system emissions constituting 39 per cent of the total.
• Land use accounted for 38 per cent and distribution contributed 29 per cent.
• Methane from livestock raising and rice cultivation accounted for 35 per cent of food system greenhouse gas emissions.
• Refrigeration was estimated to be responsible for 43 per cent of energy consumption by the retail and supermarket sector.
• Packaging contributed about 5.4 per cent of global food-system emissions, which was more than transportation or other supply-chain factors.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from food production alone would cause 1.5 degree Celsius (°C) global warming by 2050 and 2°C by the end of the century.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

• FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• It leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
• It was founded in October 1945 and is the oldest existing agency of the U.N.
• It is composed of 197 member states.
• It is governed by a biennial conference representing each member country and the European Union, which elects a 49-member executive council.

Headquarters: Rome, Italy
Goal

• To achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

Functions

• It helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources.
• It conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects data on agricultural output, production, and development.