If we want to tackle deforestation, we need to answer two key questions: What’s driving it, and how can we find solutions? 🤔 Every year, the world loses around 5 million hectares of forest. 95% of this deforestation occurs in the tropics, and at least 75% is driven by agriculture – clearing forests for crops like palm oil and soy, or raising livestock. Shockingly, cattle pasture expansion alone accounts for 41% of tropical deforestation. (Our World in Data) 🌳💔 So, what can European #FoodSystems do to help reduce the loss of these vital natural landscapes? Localising sustainable food production 🌱 Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) methods, such as vertical farming, allow food to be grown in a wider range of locations, including indoor environments – reducing the need to clear forests. Scaling #RegenerativeAgriculture and agroforestry across Europe 🌾 Cross-sector initiatives like The Regenerative Innovation Portfolio are fostering partnerships across the agrifood chain to provide farmers with practical tools and business models to transition to regenerative practices. Promoting tech and innovation to boost yield, crop diversity, and profit 🤖 For example, EIT Food RisingFoodStars Computomics has created a machine-learning system that helps farmers optimise crops for different climates, reducing the need to clear natural landscapes and keeping food production local. Increasing protein diversity while reducing livestock farming 🌍 Adopting plant-based proteins like AnuLife – which upcycles vegetable waste into sustainable ingredients – can replace animal-based ingredients in meat and dairy alternatives. Fostering policies to protect natural landscapes 📜 Regulations that ensure only ‘deforestation-free’ products enter the market, require companies to trace and report where commodities are produced and how they reach consumers. Read more in our blog: https://lnkd.in/deSZupFn What else can our food systems do to conserve natural landscapes? 💬👇 #ImprovingFoodTogether #FutureOfFood #SustainableFood
Legal policy regulation and restriction to control logging by planting trees to replace logged one. Introduction of Agroforestry to local farmers- connecting science and technology to nature
The way to deforestation is forestation. As need for more fibers to replase plastic increases with new innovative concepts such as Blue Ocean Closures, so will insentives to plant new forests. This is already happening as we speak Suzano is actively involved in large-scale reforestation initiatives. Through a partnership called Biomas, which includes companies like Santander, Itaú, Rabobank, Vale, and Marfrig, Suzano plans to plant over 2 billion native trees across 2 million hectares in Brazil. This effort also includes the conservation of an additional 2 million hectares of native forests, aiming to restore and protect a total of 4 million hectares over 20 years.
Student at Lund University - studying EIT Master's in food systems
2moThis is a very interesting table, thank you for sharing this! I have a few specific questions: 1) As mentioned for oilseeds, a substantial portion of that goes to animal feed. Is that also the case for other items on the chart, like Cereals, sugar cane etc? 2) The no 1 on the list is cattle. How about sheep herding? If I'm not mistaken, sheep herding cause substantial deforestation in Australia, Africa and UK for instance. Is there data for that?