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Importance of food-demand management for climate mitigation

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cam.issuedOnline2014-08-31
dc.contributor.authorBajželj, B
dc.contributor.authorRichards, KS
dc.contributor.authorAllwood, JM
dc.contributor.authorSmith, P
dc.contributor.authorDennis, JS
dc.contributor.authorCurmi, E
dc.contributor.authorGilligan, CA
dc.contributor.orcidAllwood, Julian M. [0000-0003-0931-3831]
dc.contributor.orcidDennis, John [0000-0002-5014-5676]
dc.contributor.orcidGilligan, Christopher [0000-0002-6845-0003]
dc.date.accessioned2014-09-12T15:53:47Z
dc.date.available2014-09-12T15:53:47Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractRecent studies show that current trends in yield improvement will not be sufficient to meet projected global food demand in 2050, and suggest that a further expansion of agricultural area will be required. However, agriculture is the main driver of losses of biodiversity and a major contributor to climate change and pollution, and so further expansion is undesirable. The usual proposed alternative - intensification with increased resource use - also has negative effects. It is therefore imperative to find ways to achieve global food security without expanding crop or pastureland and without increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Some authors have emphasised a role for sustainable intensification in closing global 'yield gaps' between the currently realised and potentially achievable yields. However, in this paper we use a transparent, data-driven model, to show that even if yield gaps are closed, the projected demand will drive further agricultural expansion. There are, however, options for reduction on the demand side that are rarely considered. In the second part of this paper we quantify the potential for demand-side mitigation options, and show that improved diets and decreases in food waste are essential to deliver emissions reductions, and to provide global food security in 2050.
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was funded by a grant to the University of Cambridge from BP as part of their Energy Sustainability Challenge.
dc.description.versionThis is the accepted manuscript version. The final version is available from Nature Climate Change at http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2353.html.
dc.identifier.citationNature Climate Change 4, 924-929 (2014). DOI:10.1038/nclimate2353
dc.identifier.eissn1758-6798
dc.identifier.issn1758-678X
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/245933
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.publisher.urlhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2353
dc.subject30 Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
dc.subject4104 Environmental Management
dc.subject41 Environmental Sciences
dc.subject3002 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management
dc.subject3004 Crop and Pasture Production
dc.subject2 Zero Hunger
dc.subject13 Climate Action
dc.titleImportance of food-demand management for climate mitigation
dc.typeArticle
prism.endingPage929
prism.publicationDate2014
prism.publicationNameNature Climate Change
prism.startingPage924
prism.volume4
pubs.funder-project-idEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K039326/1)
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate2014-08-31
rioxxterms.licenseref.urihttp://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved
rioxxterms.typeJournal Article/Review
rioxxterms.versionAM
rioxxterms.versionofrecord10.1038/nclimate2353

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