Agriculture & Energy Resources

Agricultural production more than tripled between 1960 and 2015, owing in part to productivity-enhancing Green Revolution technologies and a significant expansion in the use of land, water and other natural resources for agricultural purposes. The same period witnessed a remarkable process of industrialization and globalization of food and agriculture.

Food supply chains have lengthened dramatically as the physical distance from farm to plate has
increased; the consumption of processed, packaged and prepared foods has increased in all but the most isolated rural communities.

Looking ahead, the core question is whether today’s agriculture and food systems are capable of meeting the needs of a global population that is projected to reach more than 9  billion by mid-century and may peak at more than 11 billion by the end of the century. Can we achieve the required production increases, even as the pressures on already scarce land and water resources and the negative impacts of climate change intensify?

We need food and clean fresh water to produce food. Due to the growing demand, on the one hand, and climate change on the other, many regions, particularly in the South, have difficulties to find the amount of freshwater needed to fill their needs.

How can we continue to cultivate without taking into account nature? More efficient use of water in agriculture would certainly help.

But water is not the only point that we have to improve in the agricultural sector. Agriculture is responsible for a big part of energy consumption. Issues in this sector are very important if we want to reach our goals, in the field of climate change, but humanity already has some solutions in his hands.

Energy
From the production of fertilizers to the processing and transporting of food products to market, the industrial food system depends on fossil fuels to produce monocultures of commodity crops. Increasingly, food crops are being diverted to energy production — most notably corn, which is being used to make ethanol as a fuel. Industrial agriculture’s present reliance on finite energy sources that negatively impact the natural environment is not sustainable. There are energy alternatives at every step along the process that can help our food system become more resilient.

80% of energy needs in the agricultural sector are satisfied by fossil energies.

The consumption of petroleum products (domestic fuel oil and heavy fuel oil, diesel and gasoline) accounts for almost 70% of the total energy consumption of the agricultural sector in 2011.

Natural gas consumption still accounts for only 8% of this consumption. Even if it has grown strongly in this sector since 1980. The share of thermal renewable energies and the recovery of waste is still modest, only 4% of agricultural energy consumption in 2011 was from renewable energies.

Processing, Packaging and Transportation
Much of the food produced today is highly processed and heavily packaged, which further increases its energy footprint. In creating processed food, energy is used to grind, chop and mix products together and to cook, bake or otherwise handle the product. Manufacturing food packaging also requires energy; most food packaging is made from plastic, which is made out of petroleum. The amount of energy required for packaging varies greatly depending on the size, type and quantity of the materials. As a result of consolidation and centralization of production, foods are often transported long distances, requiring additional energy inputs.

Energy and Animal Agriculture
Most meat, eggs and dairy products are now produced on factory farms, huge industrial livestock operations that raise thousands of animals in confined conditions without access to pasture. Since the animals are unable to graze, factory farms require tremendous quantities of feed produced by industrial crop farms using the energy-intensive processes described above. About half of the 90 million acres of land used to grow corn ends up as feed grain. And corn makes up about 95 percent of feed grain production. Out of all acres of harvested cropland in the US, corn represents about 28 percent. Factory farms are also potential sources of ground and surface water pollution, which may require municipalities and treatment facilities to expend additional energy and resources on water treatment.

These sources of energy are mainly used for heating systems, to warm indoor livestocks.

We consider that for a cow we will need 20 litres of fuel to grow it until it get killed, 3 for a chicken and 33 for a pork, only for the heating system. We have to add to these spendings the consumption of fuel for transportation and to grow their food.

The use of pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides represent also a big part in the energy consumption of agriculture. In the United States, for instance, to spread their products, they rent planes which are very polluting and harmful for the environment.

The remaining 18% of the energy consumption of the agricultural sector is supplied with electricity (mainly produced by nuclear reactors in Europe). In 2011, electricity consumption in agriculture reached twice as much as in 1985 in Europe.

But we have to notice changes in this area. In the Netherlands, the agricultural world is one of the most innovative sectors and this is very interesting when we consider energy spendings.

Of course, not all innovations are technological, and a number of them are based on know-how and real knowledge of nature. Some techniques rely on nature in itself. The creation of "smart" ecosystems involving species of insects, mites and microscopic worms to fight against harmful insects seems to work very well, to replace herbicides or pesticides for example. This is the principle of "biological control", which protects crops. This biological control is one example among many other, but seems to be a real solution for the future if we want to erase pesticides pollution and if we want to find an alternative for GMOs.

Water
Water used in agriculture can have several origins. Green water comes from rainfall and is stored temporarily in the soil. Blue waters are pumped into rivers, lakes or groundwater, but in a sustainable way. The third source corresponds to the water extracted from reserves which renew themselves little through time or not at all.

Unfortunately a lot of farmers tend to use unsustainable water, extracted legally or sometimes illegally. Most of the time, this water is used for drinking water for animals  or crops irrigation.

Irrigation, which was already used by Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, is still a developing technique today. It is often used in addition to rain-fed irrigation to increase yields and increase the length of the agricultural season. Still very often traditional, irrigation devices have a very low yield. It is estimated that with standard techniques, 30 to 60% of irrigation water is lost or evaporate, and do not benefit crops.

Researchers from the University of Utrecht, led by Marc Bierkens, decided to study the source of irrigation water used in the world. Their results, published in Water Resources Research, are disturbing. The use of water resources without real sustainable management tripled between 1960 and 2000, from 75 to 234 km3 per year. It means that natural water reserves, without a sustainable management, would be definitely out of use in few decades.

70% of the worldwide water consumption is for agriculture. This number is insane when we know that almost 30% of humans don’t have access to drinking water, which is approximately 2.1 billion people.

In Europe, only 35% of the water consumption is for the agricultural sector, even if it is a big part, it is less than Asia where 83% of the water is used for agriculture.

In the agricultural sector, we can find two types of water use. The first one is directly for human consumption and the other one used for animal foods or animal drinking water. Livestock related activities account for at least 80% of the US water consumption, almost 95% of agricultural consumption.

More surprisingly, some countries resorting mainly to blue waters (lakes and rivers) and green (rain) could end up in water deficit due to global warming (decrease in rainfall). Algeria, Morocco, Spain and Italy are particularly concerned.

In the hypothesis of water decrease, the economic consequences would be felt on a global scale. Netherlands import huge quantities of fruits and vegetables from Spain and Morocco, two countries mentioned.

A decrease in global agricultural production could also have serious health consequences, as the population continues to grow. Approximately 9 billions people will live on earth in the next decades and this population will consume on average 50% more than the actual population.

The consumption of water has to be reduced, if not, we will face serious production problems in the following years.

The meat
At the crux of our inefficient use of land, water and soil is the fact that, currently, over 50% of the world’s crops are used to feed animals and not people. This problem will certainly be exacerbated in the future given that, increasingly, consumption of animal products correlates strongly with both population growth and economic growth. Further compounding this pressure on food production is the increasing demand for energy that is encouraging more bio-fuel production from edible crops like corn and sugar. These forces are converging in a world where more than 1 billion people are undernourished.

Land
At present some 11 percent (1.5 billion ha) of the globe's land surface (13.4 billion ha) is used in crop production (arable land and land under permanent crops). This area represents slightly over a third (36 percent) of the land estimated to be to some degree suitable for crop production.

Agricultural land (including natural grassland) accounts for almost half of the European territory (48%).

Deforestation is the removal of trees from the land by man-made and natural events. Each year, 115 to 150 million square kilometers of forest are lost due to deforestation. According to the World Bank between 1990 and 2016, the world lost 1.3 million square kilometers of forest.

In the last 40 years we have lost 50% of all rain forests and over time we have lost half of all forests globally. Deforestation is mainly caused by agriculture (80%), logging (14%), and firewood (5%).

The biggest cause of forest loss – accounting for around 80 per cent – is agricultural deforestation, notably for beef, soy, palm oil and commercial timber. Soy ranks as the second largest agricultural driver of deforestation after cattle products.

The EU is involved mainly because European farmers rely on imported soy from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay to use as animal feed. Of all the soy meal consumed in the EU, 83 per cent goes in concentrate feed for pigs and poultry.

Animal Agriculture is the leading driver of human induced climate change, deforestation, water depletion, habitat loss, species extinction and world hunger. Our planet is being eaten in front of our eyes. Let's be the generation who gives a damn.

The World Wildlife Fund estimates that Europeans consume an average of 61 kilos of soy each year. As a matter of fact, soy is used to produce the meat, eggs and dairy products that end up on our dinner tables.

Palm oil
Many of you have heard about the situation going on right now regarding palm oil and its effects on the environment. From deforestation to the decrease of orangutans, this agricultural practices is definitely a problem.

Malaysia and Indonesia account for approximately 90% of global palm oil production and exports, and in those countries, large tracts of tropical rainforest have been cleared for oil palm plantations. From 1990 to 2005, over 50% of new oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia were established through conversion of lowland forests.

Around the world, 70% of palm oil is used by the processed food industry and biofuels markets, with China, India and EU countries being the largest importers.

Global palm oil consumption per capita has increased from 0.5 kg per capita in the 1970s, to 2.5 kg per capita in 2009, and global production volume is increasing by 9% each year.

A variety of large consumer goods manufacturers like Unilever and Nestlé have committed to sourcing from certified suppliers, with 4% of global production being certified as sustainable. However, only 2% of global production is sold as certified sustainable, as global demand for sustainable palm oil is low.

The expansion of oil palm plantations and rapid increase in palm oil consumption and production poses a significant threat to forests in Southeast Asia and West and Central Africa, as more and more forestland is cleared and converted for agricultural development.

Palm oil has become one of the world's most ubiquitous resources - it's in our food, fuel, and cosmetics to name but a few. Yet the palm oil industry is responsible for committing environmental destruction on a massive scale in the tropical paradises of Indonesia, at the expense of local populations and wildlife. Can the developed world shake its addiction to palm oil?

Solutions

Agriculture is a very complex process. Even if this sector is very pollutant, we can’t reduce the production or stop it, because we need food. This is the challenge, how we can feed 9 billion people while preserving nature and environment. This question is the main point of agricultural interrogations and solutions are very different according to people.

For some of them the solution is GMOs or agro-technology because in their opinion it will increase productivity. For others the solution is more based on sustainable production based on ancestral knowledge, to reduce pollution and improve the environment. The most adapted solution would be a combination of ideas, mixing technology, ecology, sustainability and knowledge accumulated for thousands of years.

New solutions and technologies on energy in Agriculture

Improve our knowledge about nature
Education could be one solution to solve our problems in agriculture, and the Netherlands once again represent a hope with the best University in this sector.

Thanks to their knowledge and research about agriculture they have become the second biggest exporter of agricultural goods in the world. If all their knowledge is used to improve the environment and production in terms of energy spendings and pollution, we can think about a better future for our agricultural world.

It is notably within the Wageningen University (a reference institute for agricultural research), but also research laboratories that a lot of improvements were made to revolutionize the production process in Holland.

The University of Wageningen welcomes in its buildings a hundred nationalities of students, who are there to try to solve the problems encountered in their country of origin. Knowledge and technology are exportable, let's take advantage of it.

Agriculture is the main driver of deforestation. How agroforestry can regenerate our ecosystem.

Use technology in favor of environment
Nowadays technology is used mostly in favor of economic inputs. But, the challenge becomes more and more environmental because people start to think about their condition as humans.

And we can combine both.

The perfect example is the Netherlands. The Netherlands is now the world's second largest exporter of agricultural products, just behind the United States, which is 270 times larger. But beware, there is no question of putting the environmental issue in the background: in the Netherlands, producing a kilo of tomatoes consumes 9.5 liters of water while in the rest of the world, it takes an average of 214 liters. And that's not all, the Dutch do not just export their agri-food products. Government, research institutes or private laboratories take part in food production projects around the world and sell their knowledge, materials and technologies for tens of billions of euros.

How did Netherlands achieve this success? What are the main keys for Dutch agriculture? What’s the secret of this little country? In this video, we will tell you all of that.

Technical and financial help for farmers
This technology is certainly useful and can permit to save a lot of resources, farmers know it. But when a sustainable heating system can’t be affordable by the people who produce our agri-foods, how this technology is useful?

States are the answer. They must help their farmer to work in a sustainable way and create value while taking environment into account. They have to show all the benefits of ecological production by creating experimentation fields, emphasizing about savings in energy, money and preservation of environment.

First knowledge must be shared by states, they must create education campaigns for farmers and help them to understand biodiversity.

Then, they should create fundraisings to ensure an ecological transition for agricultural world. Mostly, farmers are not opposed to the use of sustainable devices but they can’t invest all their money in it, this is the role of the government.

Better regulation (use taxes for resources instead of working)
A principle which is used in industry should be created in agriculture. Polluters-pays. A farm which uses a lot of resources pays for the pollution they emit and the money goes to sustainable farms to reward their efforts. If governments works like this, all the farms will start to think about new technologies and sustainable ways to produce. Gradually the wave of new technologies will start to flood each business and create a virtuous circle.

Governments should also ban GMOs which are very harmful for the environment.

GMOs need more water, more resources. When a farmer uses GMOs he needs to use pesticides because these two go always together. The use of pesticides implies soil erosions which at its turn implies more water spendings because the soil can not absorb water normally.

This is the main reason for a change in the tax system. If governments start to tax resources instead of work, companies will think about how they can reduce their spendings in resources and implicitly how they can improve environmental conditions.

It could have several positive impacts. The first one is, of course, changes in the production process, in favor of environment. And the second one would be a social improvement, the creation of more works in the agricultural sector, but in the research sector as well.

What do you do regarding making more sustainable food choices? By tagging us with #theconsciouschallenge you can share your ideas!

Want to contribute to our Ecological Footprint Bible? Submit us your scientific articles! Mail us at info@theconsciouschallenge.org

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