When it comes to the ecological harms of industrial farming, pesticides and nitrous-oxide-spewing fertilizers are often top concerns for environmentalists.
But agriculture’s overall use of fossil fuels is also an enormous problem, according to a recent analysis by the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. The report estimates that agriculture’s supply chain is responsible for at least 15% of the world’s fossil fuel use and for driving the equivalent annual carbon emissions of the European Union and Russia combined.
This is thanks to the ways we produce, transport and store food. As is the case with many industries, fossil fuels are deeply entrenched in agricultural supply chains, from using combustion engine tractors to packaging foods in plastic wrapping.
“Industrial food systems have a fossil fuel problem,” said Patty Fong, a program director at the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. “To prevent catastrophic climate breakdown, we need to urgently wean our food systems – alongside other economic sectors – off fossil fuels.”
A 2021 study found that agriculture accounts for as much as a third of overall greenhouse gas emissions. These eyepopping estimates have led advocates of decarbonizing food systems to push for the issue to be central at December’s UN climate summit, COP28, in the United Arab Emirates. In a joint letter published in late October, in the run-up to the conference, 80 organizations and individuals (including the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Defense Fund) called for action on food that goes beyond agricultural production (and includes the entire food supply chain).
“COP28 is a critical stepping stone in fixing our food systems and safeguarding food and nutrition security for people and humanity. Let’s seize this opportunity,” they wrote.
And COP28 might emerge to be the most food-focused climate summit yet, as this year’s hosts have said they want to elevate the issue. But it remains to be seen whether governments will agree to the kind of transformational changes needed to make the way we eat more sustainable – especially given how ingrained fossil fuels are in food supply chains.
Industrial food systems have a fossil fuel problem.
–Patty Fong, program director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food
And the fossil fuel industry wants to ensure that its piece of the agricultural pie continues to grow, according to the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. As the global energy transition picks up speed in transportation and heating, the alliance found that oil companies are “maneuvering to lock in” agriculture’s dependence on fossil fuels by investing in petrochemical products, such as plastic packaging for food and synthetic fertilizers. In 2018, the petrochemicals market accounted for 14% of oil production and 8% of natural gas production, and food-related fertilizers and plastics accounted for around 40% of these products, the alliance’s analysis says. The International Energy Agency projects the chemical sector will make up more than a third of oil demand by 2030.
The alliance's report maintains that untangling fossil fuels from food is an urgent task that will require a radical departure from the “continuing business-as-usual with incremental shifts” and a holistic look at every step of food production – from seed to fork.
“Shifting away from fossil fuel dependency towards renewable energy and regenerative and agroecological farming would not only protect our planet, but make food more affordable, enhance food security, create jobs, improve health, and help tackle hunger,” Fong said.
