Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions pose a nearly insurmountable conundrum for human beings, particularly the generations to come. While the entire world is pursuing decarbonisation efforts, the food industry, which the world relies on for basic survival, is the third-largest contributor to global warming, emitting greenhouse gases through conversion of natural ecosystems into agricultural land as well as transportation, processing and manufacturing activities. Livestock production and agricultural cultivation account for 40% of emissions of methane gas which is more than 80 times as potent as CO2 at warming the globe.
One of the toughest challenges for the food industry is ensuring cooperation and aligning climate actions of the various actors throughout the global supply chains, including over 350 million smallholder farmers. Capital constraints, limited access to technology, knowledge gaps around climate change, including mitigation and adaptation measures, and the dominance of conventional farming practices are all obstacles to the food industry achieving the ambitious climate goals.
