Vicious cycle: Food systems both suffer from and cause emissions

Our global food system stands at a dangerous crossroads. As the world heats up and air quality declines, the challenge of feeding nearly 8 billion people grows harder. At the same time, the very system meant to nourish humanity contributes heavily to climate change, air pollution, and rising emissions.

A recent review in the journal Engineering offers a detailed examination of this tangled relationship. It brings forward the idea that food, climate, and air pollution are no longer separate issues. They form a feedback loop – where each reinforces the other.

This growing realization has prompted researchers and policymakers to seek strategies that address them all at once. The solutions must not only protect crops and diets today but also reshape the food system for long-term resilience.

Air pollution is damaging how we grow food

Climate change disrupts the natural rhythm of agriculture. Crops grow within specific temperature and rainfall windows. As global temperatures rise and weather grows erratic, those windows shift.

Farmers face shortened or mistimed growing seasons. Floods, droughts, and storms now damage fields with greater frequency.

Meanwhile, polluted air compounds the damage. Ground-level ozone, in particular, harms plant leaves. This weakens photosynthesis and reduces growth.

Fine particulate matter from combustion sources also affects pollination and soil health. All of this adds stress to crops that are already struggling to adapt.

Livestock suffer as well. Heat stress impacts growth, fertility, and milk production. Poor air quality affects their respiratory systems and increases disease risks. These challenges create ripples through the food supply chain, reducing both quantity and quality of food available to people.

Food production drives emissions

While agriculture suffers from climate change and pollution, it is also a major driver of both. The food sector is responsible for over 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally.

These emissions don’t only come from farms. They stretch from soil to store – covering growing, harvesting, transport, processing, packaging, and waste.

Key sources include methane from livestock digestion and rice paddies, nitrous oxide from fertilizer use, and carbon dioxide from fuel combustion.

“Over the past three decades, emissions beyond the farm gate have nearly doubled, emerging as a primary driver of emissions growth in the agri-food system,” the authors note.

Agriculture also emits harmful pollutants such as ammonia, black carbon, and volatile organic compounds. These contribute to both global warming and local air quality problems.

The feedback loop tightens: the more the system pollutes, the harder it becomes to grow food under safe, stable conditions.

Smarter food practices reduce emissions

To address this, the review identifies several strategies that can reduce emissions without compromising productivity. Fertilizer management is a top priority.

The 4R approach – right source, right rate, right timing, and right placement – can prevent nitrous oxide from escaping into the air. This not only cuts emissions but also improves soil health.

Rice farming presents another opportunity. Traditional flooded fields generate large amounts of methane. By adopting non-continuous flooding and mid-season drainage, farmers can reduce this output significantly. These techniques are already gaining ground in parts of Asia.

Livestock practices also hold promise. Adjusting animal diets, reducing herd sizes, and improving feed conversion rates can limit methane. Feed additives – like seaweed or plant extracts – suppress methane production in the stomachs of ruminants.

“Improved enteric fermentation mitigation strategies, including dietary adjustments and additive use, hold significant potential for reducing CH₄ emissions,” noted the researchers.

“However, successful implementation requires these measures to be integrated with broader agricultural policies to address trade-offs and ensure sustainable livestock management.”

Managing manure, soil, and supply chains

Beyond animal feed, manure management plays a key role.

Simple changes such as covering manure storage tanks or switching to anaerobic digestion can reduce methane and ammonia. In colder regions, composting with additives like biochar helps control emissions even more.

Emissions also occur after food leaves the farm. Transport, refrigeration, and retail operations generate pollutants, especially when powered by fossil fuels. Switching to cleaner logistics and reducing spoilage can cut these downstream emissions.

The review emphasizes that demand-side changes are just as important. Dietary shifts – especially toward more plant-based foods – offer large reductions in emissions. Food waste, which currently squanders nearly one-third of all food produced, must also be tackled.

Models show that combined demand-side actions could lower global emissions by over 4 GtCO2eq per year. These actions require education, policy support, and market changes to make sustainable choices easy and affordable.

Food producers in a changing climate

While reducing emissions is essential, farmers also need help adapting to the changing climate.

Crops bred for drought resistance, heat tolerance, and disease resistance can thrive where others fail. Adjusting sowing times, crop rotations, and irrigation techniques boosts resilience.

In livestock, adaptation means more than survival. Farmers can use cross-breeding programs to produce animals better suited for heat or disease resistance. Improving animal housing ventilation also reduces stress and mortality during extreme weather.

Water use becomes critical. Climate change disrupts rainfall patterns, often bringing too much or too little.

Technologies like drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting help manage this uncertainty. In areas where water is scarce, choosing less water-intensive crops can preserve supplies for future use.

Case studies show what’s possible

The review cites several global examples of progress. In parts of Africa, agroecological farming systems mix crops, trees, and livestock in ways that mimic natural ecosystems. This improves biodiversity and yields while reducing environmental pressure.

In Asia, the “climate-smart village” model has introduced early-warning weather systems, improved seeds, and resource-sharing networks. These villages offer a practical demonstration of what sustainable, climate-resilient farming looks like.

These initiatives show that local knowledge and global science can come together. They highlight that success lies not in any single technology but in rethinking the food system as a whole.

Food and emission data gaps

Despite progress, large gaps in understanding remain. Many emissions estimates focus only on carbon dioxide, ignoring methane and nitrous oxide. There is little high-resolution data that tracks emissions across entire food supply chains.

Another concern is nutrient loss in crops. Air pollution and climate change can reduce protein, vitamin, and mineral levels in food. This impacts not just yield but the nutritional value of diets.

As the authors state, more precise measurement tools, better emissions inventories, and long-term field trials are needed. Without this, policies may target the wrong sources or overlook key mitigation options.

Shared responsibility, global solutions

Fixing food systems requires global cooperation. Governments must design policies that reward sustainable farming. Companies must reduce supply chain emissions. Farmers must adopt new practices, and consumers must rethink their choices.

These efforts should be fair and inclusive. Many low-income countries depend on agriculture for survival. Climate action must support – not punish – those who are most vulnerable to its effects.

As the review concludes, the path forward lies in unity. A food system that supports both people and planet is within reach, but only if we work together.

The study is published in the journal Engineering.

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