Author
Listed:
- Benjamin S. Halpern
(University of California
University of California)
- Melanie Frazier
(University of California)
- Juliette Verstaen
(University of California)
- Paul-Eric Rayner
(University of California)
- Gage Clawson
(University of California)
- Julia L. Blanchard
(University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania)
- Richard S. Cottrell
(University of California
University of Tasmania
The University of Queensland)
- Halley E. Froehlich
(University of California
University of California)
- Jessica A. Gephart
(American University)
- Nis S. Jacobsen
(Technical University of Denmark, National Institute of Aquatic Resources)
- Caitlin D. Kuempel
(University of California
Griffith University)
- Peter B. McIntyre
(Cornell University)
- Marc Metian
(International Atomic Energy Agency–Marine Environment Laboratories (IAEA-MEL), Radioecology Laboratory)
- Daniel Moran
(Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
- Kirsty L. Nash
(University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania)
- Johannes Többen
(Institute for Economic Structures Research (GWS)
Social Metabolism & Impacts, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Member of the Leibniz Association)
- David R. Williams
(University of Leeds)
Abstract
Feeding humanity puts enormous environmental pressure on our planet. These pressures are unequally distributed, yet we have piecemeal knowledge of how they accumulate across marine, freshwater and terrestrial systems. Here we present global geospatial analyses detailing greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, habitat disturbance and nutrient pollution generated by 99% of total reported production of aquatic and terrestrial foods in 2017. We further rescale and combine these four pressures to map the estimated cumulative pressure, or ‘footprint’, of food production. On land, we find five countries contribute nearly half of food’s cumulative footprint. Aquatic systems produce only 1.1% of food but 9.9% of the global footprint. Which pressures drive these footprints vary substantially by food and country. Importantly, the cumulative pressure per unit of food production (efficiency) varies spatially for each food type such that rankings of foods by efficiency differ sharply among countries. These disparities provide the foundation for efforts to steer consumption towards lower-impact foods and ultimately the system-wide restructuring essential for sustainably feeding humanity.
Suggested Citation
Benjamin S. Halpern & Melanie Frazier & Juliette Verstaen & Paul-Eric Rayner & Gage Clawson & Julia L. Blanchard & Richard S. Cottrell & Halley E. Froehlich & Jessica A. Gephart & Nis S. Jacobsen & Ca, 2022.
"The environmental footprint of global food production,"
Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(12), pages 1027-1039, December.
Handle:
RePEc:nat:natsus:v:5:y:2022:i:12:d:10.1038_s41893-022-00965-x
DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00965-x
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