55pc of World’s Terrestrial Surface Consists of Rangelands, But Just 10pc of National Climate Plans
Beef Central, May 28, 2021
A new atlas published today shows that 54 per cent of the world’s land surface consists of vast tracts of land covered by grass, shrubs or sparse, hardy vegetation that support millions of pastoralists, hunter gatherers, ranchers and large populations of wildlife—and store large amounts of carbon.
Yet while most climate plans focus on forests, much less importance is given to rangelands, leaving these massive planetary ecosystems supporting people and nature exposed to a wide variety of threats.
This is among the key conclusions of the new Rangelands Atlas—an ambitious, first-of-its-kind inventory compiled by a coalition of prominent international environmental, conservation and agricultural organisations cataloguing the contemporary character of the world’s rangelands, which include the Mongolian steppe, the savannas of Africa, the pampas of South America and the Great Plains of North America.
Their goal is to make rangelands a prominent part of policy discussions around everything from confronting climate change to reducing poverty, managing threats to biodiversity and freshwater and developing sustainable food systems.
Will Government Show Grazing's Good Side at the UN Food Systems Summit?
Realagriculture.com, May 6, 2021
A series of three meetings were jointly held in early May led by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). The purpose of the meetings was to discuss grazing livestock and their role in building a sustainable food supply system.
The meetings and consultations were held in preparation for the United Nations Food System Summit this coming fall, which hasn’t been held for 25 years.
Lauren Martin, manager of government and food industry relations for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, notes that the summit was conveniently announced before the pandemic, when massive disruptions to the food systems occurred and will need to be discussed and addressed.
Food Systems Offer Huge Opportunities to Cut Emissions, Study Finds
Kevin Krajick, Phys.org, June 6, 2021
A new global analysis of greenhouse-gas emissions from food systems says that such emissions have been systematically underestimated—and points to major opportunities to cut them. The authors estimate that activities connected to food production and consumption produced the equivalent of 16 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018—one third of the human-produced total, and an 8 percent increase since 1990.
A companion policy paper highlights the need to integrate research with efforts to reduce emissions. The papers, developed jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, NASA, New York University and experts at Columbia University, are part of a special issue of Environmental Research Letters on sustainable food systems
New Report from UN Nutrition Untangles Risks and Benefits of Food from Livestock for Sustainable Healthy Diets, Focusing on Challenges Linked to Both Abundance and Scarcity
Susan MacMillan, ILRI, June 8, 2021
A more balanced, sustainable approach to consuming food from livestock—one that meets nutrition needs and focuses on local production methods—is essential for delivering on global commitments to combat malnutrition in all its forms, according to a comprehensive report released today from UN Nutrition.
While acknowledging key health and environmental challenges linked to overconsumption, the analysis also shows that livestock can provide nutrient-dense foods for addressing undernourishment that causes stunting in approximately 22% of young children worldwide and health risks at other key stages of life, especially for pregnant and lactating women.