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Food without agriculture

Author

Listed:
  • Steven J. Davis

    (University of California, Irvine
    University of California, Irvine)

  • Kathleen Alexander

    (Orca Sciences)

  • Juan Moreno-Cruz

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Chaopeng Hong

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Matthew Shaner

    (Orca Sciences)

  • Ken Caldeira

    (Carnegie Institution for Science
    Breakthrough Energy)

  • Ian McKay

    (Orca Sciences)

Abstract

Efforts to make food systems more sustainable have emphasized reducing adverse environmental impacts of agriculture. In contrast, chemical and biological processes that could produce food without agriculture have received comparatively little attention or resources. Although there is a possibility that someday a wide array of attractive foods could be produced chemosynthetically, here we show that dietary fats could be synthesized with 1.5 g CO2-eq kcal−1 now emitted to produce palm oil in Brazil or Indonesia. Although scaling up such synthesis could disrupt agricultural economies and depend on consumer acceptance, the enormous potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as well as in land and water use represent a realistic possibility for mitigating the environmental footprint of agriculture over the coming decade.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven J. Davis & Kathleen Alexander & Juan Moreno-Cruz & Chaopeng Hong & Matthew Shaner & Ken Caldeira & Ian McKay, 2024. "Food without agriculture," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 90-95, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:7:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41893-023-01241-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01241-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chaoran Chen & Diego Restuccia & Raül Santaeulàlia-Llopis, 2023. "Land Misallocation and Productivity," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 441-465, April.
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    3. David Tilman & Michael Clark, 2014. "Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7528), pages 518-522, November.
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