How to Rehab Our Soil for a Changing Climate
Author: Wanqing Zhou | Published on: December 13, 2016
“Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.”
This year’s message from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for World Food Day is timely as the planet emerges from yet another summer of record heat. With changing climates and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, the world is facing real challenges with food production, exacerbated by the declining capacity of soils to hold water, buffer temperature shocks and supply nutrients to food crops.
In global climate negotiations and agreements, agriculture is listed primarily as a victim of adverse climate impacts.
While this is true, it is equally important to recognize that food production is also a major contributor to climate change. The silver lining? Recognizing that food production is a major emitter of greenhouse gases could open a new range of solutions to climate change.