According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the U.S., agricultural land area is approximately 38% of the global land surface and one-third is used for cropland. Both livestock and agriculture contribute to just over 14% of worldwide greenhouse emissions, which most climate scientists have identified as a primary cause of climate change. Food transport and storage also consume fossil fuels to generate the energy needed for the required ambient environment and movement of commodities from point to point within the supply chain.
With the current world population of 8 billion expected to balloon to 10 billion by 2057, the demand for food will increase along with the amount of land required to meet the needs of 2 billion more people on the planet. Between the deforestation for both agriculture and livestock and the parceling of the freshwater supply for food production, we’re quickly reaching a tipping point.
The current food supply system perpetuates a greenhouse gas emission feedback loop: All food sources ultimately depend on the climate, but the food supply chain itself is contributing to climate change — which is unfavorable, if not potentially disastrous, to the food supply.
Climate Change Solutions for Food Supply Chain
With the right technology and planning, every actor in the food supply chain can implement or support sustainable food production practices. The worldwide fast-food giant McDonald’s, for example, has taken steps to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, shifting its food sources away from deforested regions and promoting the use of rehabilitated land.
And within the transportation component of the food supply chain, port authorities in Los Angeles; Hamburg, Germany; Barcelona, Spain; Antwerp, Belgium; Long Beach, California; Vancouver, Canada; and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, have collaborated on the World Ports Climate Action Program (WPCAP), which uses the World Ports Sustainability Program as a platform to grow awareness. The WPCAP aims to implement technological tools that “increase supply chain efficiency” while researching and developing low-carbon fuels that can be used for maritime transport.
Consumers in the Age of Climate Change
The 21st-century consumer is increasingly cognizant of the food supply chain’s negative impact on the environment and is even willing to pay up to 38% more for ethically produced goods. The consumer push for sustainable food production practices also includes the growing demand for greater transparency; today’s customers want to know where their food came from and how it was produced.
The necessary technology is already available. For example, smartphone apps can cull the tracking information from farm to table and reveal the “where” and “how” of the food products that consumers are considering for purchase. The kink in the chain is incentivizing all suppliers, shippers, storage professionals, and retailers to align their technology in a way that allows accurate, valuable information to be viewed by the consumer. But consumers have a great deal of sway in the supply vs. demand equation, and can greatly influence the industry by choosing to buy food that is sustainably sourced.
The Food Supply Chains of the Future
Sustainable food supply chain protocol is certainly within reach, but its success depends on smart collaboration and coordination among all stakeholders. As recent trends show, profitability and sustainability are not mutually exclusive goals.