Grow food on farmland, rather than feed and fuel

Increases in the human population and demand for food are concomitant with decreases in healthy soil, clean and sufficient water and an increase in inputs, with the polluting impacts of intensified production. Ramped up agricultural production contributes to transgressing six of nine planetary boundaries; i) land use change, ii) freshwater change, iii) climate change, iv) biodiversity loss, v) nutrient pollution and vi) novel entities. 

In modern mainstream agriculture, the livestock tail is wagging the entire food system. Production is maximized per animal, committing larger areas of arable land to grow sufficient grain crops as high energy inputs to achieve the most meat, milk and eggs from each pig, cow and chicken.

“Climate science makes clear that Western nations must reduce meat intake across all demographics,” Shyon Baumann and Josée Johnston posited this past August. Grain crops deplete soil health and, when used as fuel and feed for meat and milk from livestock, reduce caloric production efficiency and lower overall food system capacity. The priority use for grain crops should be as food crops.

Co-researchers and I determined that Ontario could use 

visit website