http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=223950

Home / News
Farming adds to greenhouse gases: report

NP Network Blogs

Agricultural practices, such as raising cattle, contribute substantially to greenhouse gases, says a Greenpeace reportTed Rhodes/CanWest News ServiceAgricultural practices, such as raising cattle, contribute substantially to greenhouse gases, says a Greenpeace report

OTTAWA -- Big oil and gas companies aren't the only problem in the fight against heat-trapping gases.

An environmental report warns farming, fertilizer and diets are responsible for a large chunk of the pollution blamed for global warming. The Greenpeace report, Cool Farming, estimates direct and indirect agriculture industry activities are contributing 17 to 32% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Overuse of fertilizer is believed to be one of the leading culprits, releasing an estimated two billion tonnes of nitrous oxide -- a greenhouse gas estimated to be 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide -- into the atmosphere.

While Greenpeace Canada is urging the Harper government to implement a new tax on fertilizers, converting the new revenues into assistance for greener farming practices, the report's author, Pete Smith, a professor of soils and global change at the University of Aberdeen also suggests consumers have a role to play in the equation.

"This is not (about) having a go at farmers," said Mr. Smith, a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2007 report. "This is just trying to look forward to the future and see how we can move forward in a sustainable way that's both climate-friendly and allows us to feed the people that we need to."

Mr. Smith said the agriculture industry could become a net sink for greenhouse gas emissions, instead of a source, if it improves land use and management, and restores organic soils through activities such as re-planting grasses. He stressed the improved practices would be essential in a world that will see its population rise this century to nine billion from six billion, but that humans also would have to reduce consumption of products such as beef which is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions because of methane released by cows.

"I don't think anyone can force dietary change on other people," he said, "but it is worth noting that the diet that we choose, the diet that we select, does have climate consequences and maybe not many people are aware of that."

Josh Brandon, a Greenpeace Canada agriculture campaigner, noted individual farmers have a limited amount of green choices available in their day-to-day jobs and should be getting more support from big industry players or policy-makers who could introduce fiscal measures such as taxes on unsustainable practices to offer more assistance for activities such as organic farming.

"It's not the farmers that are to blame," said Mr. Brandon. "It's governments and industrial agri-business companies ... that are holding farmers ransom because they need to go to those companies for seeds and fertilizers and pesticides and they're not given environmentally sustainable solutions."

A spokesperson for a Canadian industry association representing about 40 manufacturers, distributors and retailers of fertilizer said that farmers in the country have already adopted practices to improve use of fertilizer under a voluntary system that is working.

"Farmers are adopting best management practices that minimize GHG emissions, so there's no need for a tax in Canada," said Clyde Graham, a vice-president of strategy and alliances at the Canadian Fertilizer Institute. "A tax on fertilizer would be a tax on farmers and ultimately on food."

Mr. Brandon added the report should be an eye-opener to push Canadians to do more to change their personal habits.

"They need to think about how they drive to work every day, they need to think about also, what they are putting in their mouths," said Mr. Brandon.

Sheep have the largest global warming potential, according to the report, with each kilogram of meat producing an estimated 17.4 kg of CO2 emissions, followed by cattle at 12.98 kg of CO2, swine at 6.35 kg and poultry at 4.57 kg.

The full report is at http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/canada/en/documents-and-links/publications/cool-farming-climate-impacts.pdf