By Nilang Gor
In the third decade of the 21st century, we are tasked with reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 45 percent by 2030 in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius — the recommended temperature change to avert catastrophic global warming consequences. The food sector stands at the center of these social and environmental challenges — accounting for 21-37 percent of total anthropogenic GHG emissions, as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019. But food emissions often go unaddressed in our cities because they commonly use sector-based GHG inventories that exclude emissions associated with imported goods. Nearly 80 percent of the U.S. population live in urban areas, and these cities and towns import the majority of their food. As a result, most of our food emissions are going unaccounted and unaddressed.
The San Francisco Bay Area continues to lead the climate movement by recognizing consumption-based emissions and adopting healthy and sustainable plant-based policies for our food procurement. But there is certainly a need to expand these efforts across the Bay Area’s local communities. Therefore, the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter’s new Sustainable Food and Agriculture Committee is committed to supporting local policies addressing 1. Good Food for All 2. Local and Sustainable Farming Practices and 3. Reducing Food Waste. If you are interested in joining the SF Bay Area Sustainable Food and Agriculture Committee, please contact the chair, Nilang Gor, at gornilang@hotmail.com.
Photo by Luisa Brimble on Unsplash.