{"id":5686,"date":"2015-11-24T11:14:42","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T16:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=5686"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:47:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:47:42","slug":"food-production-doesnt-have-a-seat-at-the-paris-climate-talks-but-we-cant-wait-for-an-invitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2015\/11\/24\/food-production-doesnt-have-a-seat-at-the-paris-climate-talks-but-we-cant-wait-for-an-invitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Agriculture doesn\u2019t have a seat at the Paris climate talks, but we can\u2019t wait for an invitation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Credit: Flickr user Domenico<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The CEOs of 14 major food\u00a0and beverage\u00a0companies have now\u00a0signed a joint letter asking\u00a0the 190 governments attending next month\u2019s United Nations climate change negotiations in Paris to act decisively in order to protect global food supplies. In the letter, sponsored by sustainability advocate Ceres, these businesses pledged to\u00a0accelerate action on climate change and asked U.S. and world leaders to do the same.<\/p>\n

Other stakeholders are also pushing for\u00a0crop production and\u00a0food security<\/a> to be a major topic of discussion at the upcoming negotiations, but agriculture isn’t in the draft text for a\u00a0new climate agreement. Most of the focus will be on emissions from deforestation and land use changes.<\/p>\n

These are pressing and important issues that are very closely tied to agriculture \u2013 but they don\u2019t capture the emissions and environmental impacts that result from food\u00a0production.\u00a0This is problematic, since there\u2019s a lot at stake for farmers. Reports on how climate change will impact the global food supply and crops will suffer from higher temperatures are everywhere.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we need investment, research, and tangible actions to help farmers and protect our food supply \u2013 and we need it now. Fortunately, the private sector can help \u2013 their pledges are a great step in the right direction, but it’s the demonstrations of\u00a0agricultural innovation from within\u00a0that can spark\u00a0real change, at scale.<\/p>\n

Why food production isn\u2019t on the agenda in Paris <\/strong><\/p>\n

Food production involves millions of growers and ranchers farming in various regions and climates across the globe. That\u2019s why, when compared with other industries such as energy, agriculture isn\u2019t heavily regulated. There are too many factors and too many stakeholders. There is also no clear mechanism on how to implement agricultural changes across the globe \u2013 that\u2019s part of the reason why crop production hasn\u2019t historically been part of international climate talks.<\/p>\n

But voluntary efforts have been ramping up at an unprecedented pace.<\/p>\n

Innovation from within\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"31144_Irrigated<\/a>As General Mills\u2019 chief sustainability officer noted in a recent announcement<\/a>, climate change plays a significant role in the long-term viability of their business \u2013 so they\u2019re investing in watershed restoration and sustainable sourcing projects. Sustainable food production just makes good business sense \u2013 and reduces the risk of supply chain disruptions. Other encouraging developments:<\/p>\n