OPINION:
While the attention of the world’s elite gravitates toward discussions at the just-ended U.N. Climate Change Conference, a crucial voice often overlooked or, worse, demonized is that of the American agriculture industry. Amid global concerns about climate change, there’s a pressing need to recognize and commend the progress made by U.S. agricultural producers in addressing environmental challenges.
Since the 1940s, American farmers, ranchers and foresters have increased agriculture output nearly threefold with little to no change in input. Simply put, our agriculture industry produces more with less.
In fact, the U.S. agriculture industry makes up just 11% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and stands as the nation’s lowest-emitting economic sector. Nevertheless, anti-agriculture groups continue to push alarmist rhetoric that our food system is broken and must be dismantled.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the agriculture industry sequesters an average of 6 to 9.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide yearly.
An often-unacknowledged fact is that the U.S. agriculture sector, along with the nation’s forest lands, wood products and trees, serves as a substantial net carbon sink, offsetting a significant 13% of the country’s total carbon emissions. This places it among the most substantial global carbon sinks, a testament to American agriculture’s positive environmental contributions beyond domestic borders.
Over the last seven decades, the U.S. agriculture sector has achieved remarkable milestones in reducing per-unit livestock emissions. Per unit emissions have declined 21% in pork, 26% in milk and 11% in beef, showcasing the industry’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.
Nonetheless, arriving on private planes, global elites at the U.N. conference in Dubai think Americans should eat less meat, cows should burp less, and our way of life should cease.
Comparing emissions profiles with countries of comparable output, the U.S. stands out as the only one to have decreased emissions over the last 30 years, while countries like China, India and Brazil have alarmingly increased their emissions by as much as 86%. Simply put, the innovation of the American agriculture industry, feeding a growing global population while increasing efficiency and reducing emissions, should be the example the world follows.
The impending global population surge, projected to increase by 2 billion over the next three decades, presents an opportunity for American agriculture to meet global food demand. The American Farm Bureau Federation predicts a necessary 70% increase in food production to meet this need.
Narratives around climate change mitigation shouldn’t be centered on regulating American producers out of business. Rather, those seeking to mitigate climate disaster should recognize U.S. agriculture as an exemplary model of climate-friendly agriculture. Policies that promote increased efficiency, reduced barriers to production, and lower operational costs for U.S. agriculture are inherently climate-friendly.
Regulating and dismantling the U.S. agricultural system as we know it won’t solve global climate change challenges, but it will make America and the world more dependent on dirtier sources of food. By bolstering American products in the global marketplace, the U.S. can offset emissions generated by countries with more detrimental emissions profiles, ultimately reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
The solution to global climate change is not producing less of certain foods or upending the food system as we know it. It’s using science, technology and innovation to continue producing more with less in the U.S., exporting it overseas, and replicating that model worldwide.
The economic powerhouse of modern agriculture in the United States is simultaneously mitigating climate change and hunger. Americans spend just 11.3% of their disposable income on food, among the lowest rate on the planet. The United States also exported nearly $180 billion in agricultural goods in 2021, providing critical resources to dozens of trading partners around the globe. All of this is possible through the efficiencies gained from the U.S. production model.
American agriculture stands as a beacon of innovation and sustainability. Its progress, commitment to reducing emissions, and contributions as a net carbon sink exemplify its positive global impact. Therefore, it is vital to recognize, support and enhance American agriculture as an integral part of the solution to climate challenges on a global scale.
• Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson is chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
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