Ideas to Decarbonize the Food System and Improve Public Health

May 18

View The CLEEN Project's Ideas to Decarbonize Food Systems

Top 3 vote-getters:

Public-Private Partnership to Encourage Widespread Adoption of a 25% by 2030 Food-Related Emissions Reduction Target

Contributor: Gerard Pozzi

Summary: Proposes a few different actions for the federal government to scale up climate-friendly diets:
1) Hosting a White House recognition ceremony for entities that meet certain sustainability goals for food
2) Requiring public entities with government contracts to measure and report on the impact of the food consumed in their premises
3) Consider setting a goal or mandating via legislation reducing GHG emissions from food purchased by the federal government by 25% by 2030

Direct Federal Agencies to Track and Reduce Food Waste

Contributor: Dana Gunders

Summary: Proposes mandating incremental food waste reductions within Federal Agencies to ensure the federal government meets its goal to halve food waste by 2030. This would help support nascent markets for food waste measurement technology, and the waste reductions would have significant cost savings and GHG reductions.

Ultra-Low Emission Cattle: Enabling Economic Growth through a Carbon-neutral Livestock Industry

Contributors: Albert Straus, Joan King Salwen

Summary: Proposes a few policy levers to promote the use of red seaweed as an additive to cattle feed, which has been shown to reduce methane emissions from cows by up to 80%:
1) Incentives for farmers to adopt technologies that reduce their climate footprint
2) “Low-Emission Cattle” incentives through the USDA existing programs (NRCS EQIP or AGstar) for farmers to adopt enteric reducing feed stuffs into feed ration
3) The USDA could compensate farmers for every ton of carbon mitigated by feeding red seaweed via the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation.