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Food Waste: A Low-Hanging Fruit for Methane Reductions
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // February 8, 2024 // By Jennifer Nguyen, Jennifer Turner & Karen ManclThis blog is modified from the Wilson Center-OSU “Cultivating US and Chinese Climate Leadership on Food and Agriculture Roadmap” publication.
“Waste is something that most of us just don’t see,” stressed Pete Pearson, Senior Director, Food Loss and Waste, WWF, at a recent Wilson Center event. Though people are “conditioned” to be blind to food waste, continued Pearson, this not-so-invisible problem wastes a third of food grown around the world. When this wasted food decomposes, it emits methane, accounting for 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
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Climate Action on the Farm: Catalyzing a No-till Revolution in the US and China
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // February 1, 2024 // By Abigail OrdillasFor centuries, farmers around the globe have tilled the soil to prepare for planting. Traditional tilling, however, exposes the bare earth to wind and water, causing erosion and the loss of soil organic carbon, as well as lowering soil quality and crop yields. In the US Corn Belt tilling has degraded approximately 35% of the land– about the size of Montana. In China, erosion from traditional tilling has degraded over 50% of agricultural soils. In the two countries soil erosion and loss of soil fertility is creating annual economic losses of $1.9 billion and $3.7 billion, respectively. Nevertheless, farmers are often hesitant to switch to no-till practices.
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A Commune in Rural Iowa Inspires Reform in China’s Countryside
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // January 18, 2024 // By Karen ManclA quiet agricultural community in east, central Iowa is a surprising place to learn about the evolution of communes in the United States. While a graduate student at Iowa State University, I first visited the Amana Colonies in 1979. The brick homes, the woolen mill, and the community kitchens were first built in 1855 by a group of German immigrants, forming the now oldest commune in the country.
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Is the Chinese Market Hungry for Carbon-Neutral Beef?
›Days before Brazilian President da Silva Feb visited China in late March 2022, China resumed its beef imports from Brazil after a temporary ban due to an earlier discovery of Mad Cow Disease. Brazil quickly bounced back as the top exporter of beef to China, a country hungry for it. With the continuous growth of China’s economy, population, urbanization, and increasing income levels, there has been an increased demand for high-protein foods. Among these, beef has become a highly sought-after delicacy. Since 2012, China has transitioned from a net exporter to a net importer of beef, primarily relying on countries like Brazil.
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Bottom-Up Food Waste and Climate Solution in China
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // waste // December 21, 2023 // By Xuehua ZhangChina is the world’s largest emitter of methane, a short-lived climate pollutant that traps 80 times more heat than carbon. Coal mining, agriculture, and food waste are China’s three biggest methane emitters. Among them, food waste holds the most promise for near-term climate action.
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From Animal Waste to Energy: A Climate Solution on Chinese Farms
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // waste // November 16, 2023 // By Tongxin Zhu & Diego Montero -
All You Can Eat: Unlocking Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential in China’s Agri-food System
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // October 26, 2023 // By Meian Chen & Diego MonteroChina’s power sector makes up the lion’s share of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, but rising methane emissions from rice farming and livestock, nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizers, and CO2 from food transport could all hinder China’s progress toward its 2060 carbon neutrality goal. Chinese policymakers could rein in agri-food emissions by modifying existing climate plans and policies. Climate-smart agriculture is not only a mitigation strategy, but also an adaptation strategy to intensifying extreme weather events like heatwaves and typhoons. -
US and Chinese Farmers Adapting to a New Climate
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // October 12, 2023 // By Abigail OrdillasExtreme heat from climate change threatens food security in the world’s two food-producing superpowers. Climate adaptation for agriculture is a must. The US and China have much to share on climate-smart farming practices to help us both weather the storms and droughts. 2023 brought scorching heat waves that baked crops and livestock in China and the United States. In China, farm animals and fish died from extreme heat in June with some provinces enduring weeks of temperatures above 40°C (104°F). In one farm, a heatwave-triggered power outage resulted in hundreds of pigs suffocating to death after shed fans stopped working.
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