Food Without Agriculture

In an article published in Nature Sustainability, researchers write that food production can be more sustainable by focusing less on traditional agriculture and more on alternative methods, like chemical and biological processes.

The article highlights a specific example where dietary fats can be produced with significantly lower CO2 emissions compared to current methods used in palm oil production in Brazil or Indonesia. While acknowledging challenges like potential impacts on agricultural economies and the need for consumer acceptance, the abstract suggests that these new methods could greatly reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, especially in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land, and water use in the next decade.

Davis, S.J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J. et al. Food without agriculture. Nat Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01241-2

#Research paper in @Nature Sustainability: Dietary #fats can be produced in a lab with significantly lower #CO2 emissions/#climate impact compared to current #palmoil production in #Brazil and #Indonesia #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/01/21/food-without-agriculture/

#Research in @Nature finds switching to lab-produced #palmoil has enormous potential to reduce #GHG emissions, #deforestation, water use. Reducing the climate impact of #agriculture over the decades #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🚫 #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/01/21/food-without-agriculture/

https://youtu.be/M1sArNV-ENM

Davis, S.J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J. et al. Food without agriculture. Nat Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01241-2

Abstract

Efforts to make food systems more sustainable have emphasized reducing adverse environmental impacts of agriculture. In contrast, chemical and biological processes that could produce food without agriculture have received comparatively little attention or resources. Although there is a possibility that someday a wide array of attractive foods could be produced chemosynthetically, here we show that dietary fats could be synthesized with <0.8 g CO2-eq kcal−1, which is much less than the >1.5 g CO2-eq kcal−1 now emitted to produce palm oil in Brazil or Indonesia. Although scaling up such synthesis could disrupt agricultural economies and depend on consumer acceptance, the enormous potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as well as in land and water use represent a realistic possibility for mitigating the environmental footprint of agriculture over the coming decade. Read original

Plain English Summary of Results

Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates can be made without traditional agriculture by using different carbon sources and a variety of chemical and biological methods. This article compares how much energy each process uses, with some details still uncertain. The processes vary in their continuous or batched nature. The article also discusses the challenge chemical methods face in distinguishing between molecular forms, unlike bioenzymatic methods which are more precise but limited to conditions suitable for life. The focus is on fats because they are simpler to make, have been produced at scale in the past, are a basic calorie source in many foods, and the production of oil crops like soy and palm has a huge environmental impact.

Synthesizing fats from natural gas or air-captured carbon using renewable energy could greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional agriculture. Finally, the potential environmental benefits of synthetic fats are highlighted, showing that replacing a portion of soy and palm oil with synthetic alternatives could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and land use, particularly in countries where these crops are intensively farmed.

Plain English Summary of Discussion Notes

Producing macronutrients without traditional agriculture can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and land use, especially for dietary fats. Even using coal-based electricity for production can be more climate-friendly than some current agricultural methods. Beyond environmental benefits, such as reduced water use and pollution, synthetic foods can improve food security and lessen the need for labor-intensive farming jobs. This opens up possibilities for reforestation and biodiversity improvements.

However, there are challenges. The estimates are based on data that might not capture all relevant factors, and more detailed analysis is needed. The cost of synthetic foods could be higher than agricultural products, and social acceptance is a major hurdle, given the public’s skepticism about synthetic foods and potential unforeseen environmental impacts. The shift to synthetic foods could also impact the global labor force, especially smallholder farmers in the global South, as agriculture employs a significant portion of the world’s workforce.

Synthetic food production could lead to a smaller environmental footprint for agriculture, requiring much less water and can be produced anywhere with the right resources. This could make food systems more resilient but might also create new dependencies. Sustainable synthetic food production would ideally use renewable energy and atmospheric carbon.

Finally, the move towards synthesized foods prompts a reevaluation of humanity’s relationship with nature. The domestication of plants and the Haber-Bosch process for nitrogen fixation were pivotal in human history. Now, with the majority of habitable land and water used for agriculture, synthetic food offers a path to reduce the environmental burdens of agriculture and align food security with ecosystem restoration.

Read original

Davis, S.J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J. et al. Food without agriculture. Nat Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01241-2

ENDS

Read more about deforestation and ecocide in the palm oil industry

The Indigenous Malaysian concept of ‘Badi’: respecting the land and wildlife

The Indigenous Semai #indigenous people of #Malaysia can teach us a lot about how to protect people, planet and biodiversity. The Indigenous concept of #badi is not superstition or taboo, it’s about respecting…

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Deforestation Devastates Tesso Nilo National Park’s Endangered Creatures

Act now to save Tesso Nilo Park. This vital Indonesian park has lost 78% of its primary forest, threatening the habitat of Sumatran tigers and elephants

Read more

Deforestation Shifts Tree Species in Brazilian Forests

Deforestation in Brazilian forests causes shift towards fast-growing, small-seeded trees, threatening biodiversity, carbon storage. Take action!

Read more

Deforestation and Mining Threaten Rare Species at Lake Poso

Deforestation, mining, and palm oil expansion are pushing rare endemic species at Indonesia’s Lake Poso to the brink. Urgent action needed, boycott palm oil!

Read more

Palm Oil Workers Exposed to Hazardous Pesticides

Palm oil workers in Colombia, Ghana, and Indonesia are regularly exposed to hazardous EU-banned pesticides like Paraquat for palm oil. Take action!

Read more

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Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

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✓ Subscribed

2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Read more

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Read more

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Read more

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

Read more

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

Read more

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

Read more

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

#Agriculture #biotechnology #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #Brazil #Climate #climateChange #CO2 #deforestation #fats #food #GHG #Indonesia #industrialAgriculture #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #ReasonsToBeHopeful #research

A more pessimistic outlook, based on 2023 recalibrations... (From #Resiliency.org)

#LimitsToGrowth was right about collapse

By Andrew Curry, May 20, 2025

Excerpt: "Downhill from here

"The last chart assembles something from the data that wasn’t done in the original Limits to Growth work because the concept hadn’t been developed. But it is possible to assemble a #HumanDevelopmentIndex from the data, and reference it against the original model and the revised version. It doesn’t come out well.

(Source: Nebel et al, 2023, adapted Klement)

"On this last chart, Klement is most depressed, and I think with good reason:

" 'If [this chart] is true, it says that today is peak human civilisation, from now on we are going backward on a global level in terms of human development and quality of life, While some countries will continue to improve, other countries and the planet as a whole will start to go backward, ultimately dropping back to similar levels of human development and quality of life as in 1900 by the end of this century.'

"Tipping point

"The overall conclusion by the article’s authors is:

" '[T]he model results clearly indicate the imminent end of the exponential growth curve. The excessive consumption of resources by industry and #IndustrialAgriculture to feed a growing world population is depleting reserves to the point where the system is no longer #sustainable. #Pollution lags behind industrial growth and does not peak until the end of the century. Peaks are followed by sharp declines in several characteristics.

"They also note that the cause of this turning point is resources, not ‘pollution’:

" 'This interconnected collapse… occurring between 2024 and 2030 is caused by resource depletion, not pollution.

"They also have an interesting caveat. This is that the way the #World3 model works is a through a set of connections that exist within an environment of growth. In an environment of decline, they are likely to reconfigure themselves in different ways. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be a decline—just that the current lines in the model that describe it may not follow quite the same patterns.

"But one final note from me. Economists get over-excited when anyone mentions ‘#degrowth’, and fellow-travellers such as the Tony Blair Institute treat climate policy as if it is some kind of typical 1990s political discussion. The point is that we’re going to get degrowth whether we think it’s a good idea or not. The data here is, in effect, about the tipping point at the end of a 200-to-250-year exponential curve, at least in the richer parts of the world. The only question is whether we manage degrowth or just let it happen to us. This isn’t a neutral question. I know which one of these is worse."

Read more:
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2025-05-20/limits-to-growth-was-right-about-collapse/

#Capitalism #CorporateColonialism
#Warning #Extinction #ClimateCrisis #EnvironmentalCollapse
#Resources #Ecocide #Technology #SocietalChange #Collapse

So, something else that is a key element of ensuring #HumanWelfare remains in the SW range is to make sure folks are fed -- without destroying the environment! That's where #RegenerativeAgriculture , #SustainableAgriculture, #FoodForests, #CommunityGardens, etc., come into play. But #Rewilding and restoring key natural systems are also very important!

7. #Wildlife faces #extinction cascades as #ecosystems collapse.

"Vertebrate populations have declined by an average of 69 percent since 1970, with some regions experiencing losses exceeding 90 percent as habitat destruction, climate change, #pollution, and direct #exploitation combine to trigger ecosystem-wide collapse that eliminates the #biodiversity necessary to maintain stable #FoodWebs. Species extinction rates now exceed background levels by 100 to 1,000 times, representing a mass extinction event comparable to the asteroid impact that eliminated the dinosaurs but compressed into a timeframe measured in decades rather than millennia.

"The collapse of insect populations threatens #pollination services essential for agricultural production, while marine ecosystems face #acidification, warming, and #overfishing that eliminate entire trophic levels and destabilize ocean food chains supporting billions of people. Domestic animals face parallel threats as #IndustrialAgriculture concentrates genetic diversity into vulnerable #monocultures while climate change disrupts feed production and increases disease pressure on livestock populations already stressed by intensive production methods designed to maximize short-term yields rather than long-term #resilience."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/mit-warns-society-could-collapse-by-2040-and-the-signs-are-already-here/ss-AA1LevRc?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhoverent&cvid=67506a067e5a4905be298b0a363777ec&ei=35#image=8

#Collapse #Change #TheLimitsToGrowth #PlanetaryBoundaries #WaterIsLife #NatureIsLife #Extinction

Corporate Control of Food Harms Us All

Around 800 million people in our world go hungry each day. Yet around the globe we have enough food to go around. So why the discrepancy? Market concentration and corporate monopoly of our global food system means that corporate giants control everything from access to seeds, access to land, #workersrights, #greenwashing and wages. Mergers and acquisitions take place at all stages of the global food system – from seeds and fertilisers to machinery and manufacturing. This is what contributes to bad health outcomes and food inequality. Learn how you can boycott big brands causing the corporate crush and other solutions. #Boycott4Wildlife

Corporate control over global food #supplychain harms us all, causes #hunger, #food #poverty. Learn about #corporate power grabs behind seemingly innocuous #supermarket items. Reject the system 🥩 🥓🌴🚫 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8UV

Written by Liam Keenan, Assistant Professor in Economic Geography, University of Nottingham; Dariusz Wojcik, Professor of Financial Geography, National University of Singapore, and Timothy Monteath, Assistant Professor, University of Warwick. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Across the world, over 800 million people spend their days hungry. More than 2 billion have limited access to food. Yet today’s global food system produces enough to feed every person on the planet.

This imbalanced situation can be explained in part by the effects of things like natural disasters, war, fragile supply chains and economic inequality. These are all significant factors which highlight the problems of a truly global food system, where shocks spread quickly from one place to another with sometimes devastating results.

But they do not provide the full picture and cannot fully explain the rise of ultra-processed foods, the financial difficulties facing farmers, or why the world has failed to address the harmful environmental impacts of food production.

To account for these trends, we need to look at market concentration, and how a small number of very big companies have come to dominate the production, greenwashing and supply of the food we all eat.

For the global food system has become much more concentrated in recent years, partly through an increase in mergers and acquisitions, where large firms buy up rival companies until they completely dominate key areas.

High levels of market concentration mean less transparency, weaker competition, and more power in the hands of fewer firms. And our research reveals that a rise in the number of mergers and acquisitions is taking place at all stages of the global food system – from seeds and fertilisers to machinery and manufacturing.

This is all part of food being increasingly seen as a source not only of human sustenance, but as a profitable investment – or what is known as the “financialisation of food”.

And while people have been buying and selling food for a very long time, the global system has seen a major incursion of big finance in recent decades. Pension funds, private equity and asset management firms have invested heavily in the sector.

The logic is simple. Everybody needs food, so the sector promises safe and potentially lucrative returns.

But feeding the world while looking after the planet costs money, and unfortunately, big financial actors are all about the bottom line. They aim to maximise returns, provide value to shareholders, and meet the expectations of markets.

This makes mergers and acquisitions an attractive business proposition. Why make risky, long-term investments in sustainable food solutions, when you can buy your competitor, increase your market share, and potentially make a lot of money in the process? By boosting share prices and removing competition, buy-outs have been used widely throughout the global food system as an easier way to achieve further growth.

Hunger games

This has resulted in more concentration and fewer, more powerful firms. One report revealed that just four firms control 44% of the global farm machinery market, two companies control 40% of the global seed market, and four businesses control 62% of the global agrochemicals market. This trend is matched in food retail, with four firms – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons – estimated to control over 64% of the UK grocery market.

This level of concentration and power affects everyone. It means less bargaining power for farmers, who are forced to negotiate with powerful conglomerates. Workers across key stages of the global food sector face downward pressures on wages, rights, and conditions. Local communities lose autonomy over how their land is cultivated and how the rewards are distributed.

And the negative effects are not limited to those working in food.

Fewer firms and less transparency can lead to higher prices. And research on Europe has shown that places with higher food market concentration, including the UK and Germany, sell more ultra-processed food.

The global food system also plays a big part in climate change. Too much corporate power limits the opportunities for communities to tackle environmental issues, and move towards sustainable provision of healthy food for everyone by producing more food themselves.

With so much at stake, improved regulation should surely be on the menu. Our research revealed the majority of food system mergers and acquisitions take place between firms of the same nationality. This could provide an opportunity for governments to prevent further market concentration within their borders – and even to seek to dilute what already exists.

International arrangements are more complicated, and would require a coordinated, international approach. However, this may prove difficult given the first-ever UN “food systems summit” in 2021 remained “strategically silent” on the issue.

We believe market concentration must become a defining feature of food system reform. To address climate change, provide a fair deal for workers, and eradicate hunger, we need power to be less corporate – for the benefit of the entire global community.

Written by Liam Keenan, Assistant Professor in Economic Geography, University of Nottingham; Dariusz Wojcik, Professor of Financial Geography, National University of Singapore, and Timothy Monteath, Assistant Professor, University of Warwick. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

ENDS

Read more about human health, veganism, nutrition and why you should #Boycottpalmoil, #Boycottmeat for your own and the planet’s health

Blonde Capuchin Sapajus flavius

The blonde #capuchin (Sapajus flavius) is an enigmatic and critically endangered #primate found in the northeastern forests of Brazil. With their striking golden-yellow fur and intelligent, expressive faces, these capuchins are among the…

Read more

Deforestation Devastates Tesso Nilo National Park’s Endangered Creatures

Tesso Nilo National Park in #Sumatra, #Indonesia, has lost 78% of its primary forest between 2009 and 2023, primarily due to #palmoil plantations. This #deforestation threatens the habitat of critically endangered species like…

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Savage’s Glass Frog Centrolene savagei

Perched on delicate leaves above rushing mountain streams, Centrolene savagei is a rare frog of wonder. The Savage’s Glass Frog, also known as the Savage’s Cochran Frog has translucent emerald skin that shimmers…

Read more

Human Activities Shift Tree Species in Brazilian Forests

Human Activities Shift Tree Species in Brazilian Forests | Research by Lancaster University reveals that human-induced deforestation and degradation in Brazilian forests are causing a shift towards fast-growing, small-seeded tree species. These changes…

Read more

Corporate Control of Food Harms Us All

Around 800 million people in our world go hungry each day. Yet around the globe we have enough food to go around. So why the discrepancy? Market concentration and corporate monopoly of our…

Read more

Load more posts

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Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• WordPress
• YouTube
• Mail
• Mastodon

✓ Subscribed

2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Read more

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Read more

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Read more

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

Read more

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

Read more

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

Read more

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

#BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottMeat #BoycottPalmOil #corporate #diet #food #greenwashing #health #humanHealth #hunger #industrialAgriculture #meatAgriculture #meatAndSoyDeforestationInBrazil #nutrition #PalmOil #plantBasedDiet #poverty #saturatedFats #soyDeforestation #supermarket #supplyChain #supplychain #WorkersRights

@ianjames

Introducing TerraDeforming, brought to you by #AnotherMarketFailure and #unsustainable #IndustrialAgriculture

[P] I admit, Nintendo wasn't on my Hiverarchy Awareness bingo card.

https://youtu.be/eawj_oOdeDA

I'm seeing some starting to perceive hiverarchy and it's Nintendo's pricing that did it.
[Th] See, I always figured it'd be how hiverarchian homunculi are ignoring greening oceans, cow fart doomsday, plastic in our fuckin' brains or some shit that'd do it.
[P] Yeah, well, it is what it is.

#psychology #humans #climatecatastrophe #plasticpollution #industrialagriculture #nintendo #videogames

"Technology is not neutral - The School of Agroecologies of the South collectively analyze industrial agriculture, accelerated in its version 4.0 or agricultural digitalization." Very good material inSpanish from the ETC group https://www.etcgroup.org/

https://www.biodiversidadla.org/Recomendamos/Cuaderno-1-La-tecnologia-no-es-neutra

#FoodSecurity #Agroecology #FoodColonialism #IndustrialAgriculture

Viewed and recommend: “Food and Country.” https://www.foodandcountryfilm.com/

Ask for it at your local library, e.g., it’s at Monterey Public Library https://www.montereylibrary.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=460084&query_desc=kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20food%20and%20country.

#FoodAndCountry #USA #FoodSystem #IndustrialAgriculture #SmallFarmers #FamilyFarms #Ranchers #FoodProduction #agriculture #farming #chefs #WhiteOakPastures #KnuthFarms #OrganicFarming
#Greenwave #BrenSmith #RiseAndRootFarms #StratfordAngus

Through this arrangement the customary link between the natural resource and its user was interrupted - abruptly disowning the traditional ecological knowledge of this ancient people. The pastures, not managed and protected anymore by the tribes, started to be over-grazed by free-ranging pastoralists.

A major role in this unfolding disaster was played by affluent urban investors who threw thousands of livestock into the steppe turning the grazing into a large-scale, totally unsustainable, industrial practice.
#desertification
#SyrianCivilWar
#bedouin
#traditionalKnowledge
#industrialagriculture
Over-grazing and desertification in the Syrian steppe are the root causes of war https://theecologist.org/2015/jun/05/over-grazing-and-desertification-syrian-steppe-are-root-causes-war

Research: Climate Change Collapsing Insect Numbers by 63%

The world may be facing a devastating “hidden” collapse in insect species due to the twin threats of climate change and habitat loss.

https://youtu.be/pHktdA54ons

#Palmoil 🪔 #soy #meat 🥩 and #cocoa 🍫 #agriculture along with #climatechange and #habitatloss in rainforests is driving #insects to the edge of #extinction. Take action by going #vegan and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife 🌴💀⛔️ @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4KY

The parts of the world with the greatest #insect abundance may be falling silent without us even realising. the Insect apocalypse would herald the end of all life on earth. The time for excuses is OVER. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-4KY

TL; DL version

• UCL’s Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research has carried out one of the largest-ever assessments of insect declines around the world – assessing three-quarters of a million samples from around 6,000 sites.
• The new study, published in Nature, finds that climate-stressed farmland possesses only half the number of insects, on average, and 25% fewer insect species than areas of natural habitat.
• Insect declines are greatest in high-intensity farmland areas within tropical countries – where the combined effects of climate change and habitat loss are experienced most profoundly.
• The majority of the world’s estimated 5.5 million species are thought to live in these regions – meaning the planet’s greatest abundances of insect life may be suffering collapses without us even realising.
• Lowering the intensity of farming by using fewer chemicals, having a greater diversity of crops and preserving some natural habitat can mitigate the negative effects of habitat loss and climate change on insects.
• Considering the choices we make as consumers – such as buying shade-grown coffee or cocoa – could also help protect insects and other creatures in the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

Originally written by Tim Newbold, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment, UCL and Charlie Outhwaite, Postdoctoral Researcher in Biodiversity Change, UCL. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Longer version

Insects are critical to the future of our planet. They help to keep pest species under control and break down dead material to release nutrients into the soil. Flying insects are also key pollinators of many major food crops, including fruits, spices and – importantly for chocolate lovers – cocoa.

The growing number of reports suggesting insect numbers are in steep decline is therefore of urgent concern. Loss of insect biodiversity could put these vital ecological functions at risk, threatening human livelihoods and food security in the process. Yet across large swathes of the world, there are gaps in our knowledge about the true scale and nature of insect declines.

Most of what we do know comes from data collected in the planet’s more temperate regions, especially Europe and North America. For example, widespread losses of pollinators have been identified in Great Britain, butterflies have experienced declines in numbers of between 30 and 50% across Europe, and a 76% reduction in the biomass of flying insects has been reported in Germany.

Information on insect species numbers and their abundance in the tropics (the regions either side of the Equator including the Amazon rainforest, all of Brazil, and much of Africa, India and Southeast Asia) is far more scarce. Yet the majority of the world’s estimated 5.5 million insect species are thought to live in these tropical regions – meaning the planet’s greatest abundances of insect life may be suffering calamitous collapses without us even realising.

The largest of the 29 major insect groups are butterflies/moths, beetles, bees/wasps/ants and flies. Each of these groups is thought to contain more than one million species. Not only is it near-impossible to monitor such a vast number, but as many as 80% of insects may not have been discovered yet – of which many are tropical species.

Responding to these knowledge gaps, researchers at UCL’s Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research have conducted one of the largest-ever assessments of insect biodiversity change. Some three-quarters of a million samples from around 6,000 sites worldwide were analysed in our study, adding up to nearly 20,000 different species in all.

Insects are facing an unprecedented threat due to the “twin horsemen” of climate change and habitat loss. We sought to understand how insect biodiversity is being affected in areas that experience both these challenges most severely. We know they do not work in isolation: habitat loss can add to the effects of climate change by limiting available shade, for example, leading to even warmer temperatures in these vulnerable areas.

For the first time, we were able to include these important interactions in our global biodiversity modelling. Our findings, published in Nature, reveal that insect declines are greatest in farmland areas within tropical countries – where the combined effects of climate change and habitat loss are experienced most profoundly.

We compared high-intensity farmland sites where high levels of warming have occurred with (related) areas of natural habitat that are little-affected by climate change. The farmland sites possess only half the number of insects, on average, and more than 25% fewer insect species. Throughout the world, our analysis also shows that farmland in climate-stressed areas where most nearby natural habitat has been removed has lost 63% of its insects, on average, compared with as little as 7% for farmland where the nearby natural habitat has been largely preserved.

Areas our study highlights as particularly at risk include Indonesia and Brazil, where many crops depend on insects for pollination and other vital ecosystem services. This has serious implications for local farmers and the wider food chain in these climatically and economically vulnerable areas.

Cocoa, midges and deforestation

Eighty-seven of the world’s major crops are thought to be fully or partially dependent on insect pollinators, of which most tend to be grown in the tropics. Cocoa, for example, is primarily pollinated by midges, a group of flies infamous for bedevilling camping trips in Scotland and other parts of the northern hemisphere. In fact, midges play a vital and under-appreciated role in pollinating the cocoa needed to make chocolate.

The majority of cocoa production takes place in Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. In Indonesia alone, the export of cocoa beans is valued at around US$75 million per year. Most cocoa production is carried out by smallholders rather than big plantation owners, and many farmers are dependent on this crop for their livelihoods. While it is critical to understand whether insect losses will make things worse for cocoa and its farmers, we have very little knowledge of the state of insect biodiversity in tropical countries such as Indonesia.

Cocoa production in the region is already being stressed by adverse weather events that may be linked to climate change. Warming temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are implicated in changes in the growth, pollination and bean production of cocoa plants.

Agriculture is one of the major industries for the people of Indonesia, particularly in rural regions, with large areas being cleared for the production of key crops, also including palm oil. This has resulted in deforestation of extensive areas of rainforest, increasing the risk to many rare and endangered species such as the orangutan, as well as less well-known species including many insects.

Tropical regions are under considerable threat, primarily as a result of agricultural expansion – often to meet increasing demand from countries outside the tropics. International trade has been shown to be a major driver of deforestation in these regions, with forests in Southeast Asia, East and West Africa and the Amazon particularly vulnerable.

Brazil’s and Indonesia’s high levels of deforestation are attributed to the production of commodities for export including soybean, coffee, palm oil – and cocoa.

The threat of climate change

Habitat loss is known to be a key threat to biodiversity, yet its impact on insects is still under-studied, and assessments of tropical species tend to be very rare. One study found that forest-dependent orchid bees in Brazil have declined in abundance by around 50% (although it only sampled their numbers at two time points). Orchid bees, found only in the Americas, are important pollinators of orchid flowers, with some plants being entirely dependent on this insect for their pollination.

Adding to the challenges of deforestation and other, longer-term habitat changes, is climate change. This fast-emerging threat to insect biodiversity has already been implicated in declines of moths in Costa Rica and bumblebees in Europe and North America. Rising temperatures and increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts, are just two manifestations known to be having a harmful impact on many insect species.

It is predicted that climate change will have a particularly big impact in the planet’s tropical regions. Temperatures in the tropics are naturally quite stable, so species aren’t used to coping with the fast changes in temperature we are seeing with climate change. Again, though, our ability to understand how this is affecting tropical insects is hampered by a lack of data for these regions. Almost all of the available data comes from only a few very well-studied groups of insects – in particular, butterflies, moths and bees – while many other groups receive very little attention. Despite a big increase in studies of insect biodiversity change, there is still much we don’t know.

Insects normally missed

To help address this knowledge gap, our study has assessed three-quarters of a million samples of insects from all over the world. Of the 6,000 sites included, almost one third are from tropical locations. Our samples of nearly 20,000 different insect species include beetles, bees, wasps, ants, butterflies, moths, flies, bugs, dragonflies and other, less well-known groups.

This was made possible through the use of PREDICTS, a biodiversity database which brings together millions of samples collected by researchers all over the world. PREDICTS records biodiversity in natural habitats and also in areas used by humans for growing crops, among other purposes. It is one of very few global databases that allow us to study biodiversity changes across the whole world.

While our 20,000-strong sample represents only a fraction of the vast diversity of insect species, it is still a sample from more sites than have ever been studied before. We were particularly interested in using it to understand how habitat loss and climate change play off each other to affect insect biodiversity, and were able to include these interactions in our models for the first time.

These twin conditions are found most profoundly in farmland in tropical countries. And our results demonstrate that farmland in these regions has typically lost a lot of insect biodiversity, relative to areas of primary vegetation. This highlights that climate change may present a major threat to food security not only by directly impacting crops, but also through losses of pollinators and other important insects.

As climate change accelerates, the ability to grow cocoa and other crops in their current geographical ranges is already becoming more uncertain, threatening local livelihoods and reducing the availability of these crops for consumers all over the world. The insect losses our study highlights are only likely to add to this risk. Indeed, threats to food security due to the loss of insect biodiversity are already being seen in both temperate and tropical regions: for example, evidence of reduced yields due to a lack of pollinators has been reported for cherry, apple and blueberry production in the US.

In some parts of the world, farmers are resorting to hand-pollination techniques, where the flowers of crops are pollinated using a brush. Hand pollination is used for cocoa in a number of countries, including Ghana and Indonesia. These techniques can help to maintain or increase yield, but come at a high labour cost.

Reducing the declines

Our study also highlights changes that could help to reduce insect declines. Lowering the intensity of farming – for example, by using fewer chemicals and having a greater diversity of crops – mitigates some of the negative effects of habitat loss and climate change. In particular, we show that preserving natural habitat within farmed landscapes really helps insects. Where farmland in climate-stressed areas with its natural habitat largely removed shows insect reductions of 63%, on average, this number drops to as little as 7% where three-quarters of the nearby natural habitat has been preserved.

For insects living on farmland, natural habitat patches act as an alternative source of food, nesting sites and places to shelter from high temperatures. This offers hope that even while the planet continues to warm, there are options that will reduce some of the impacts on insect biodiversity.

Indeed, natural habitat availability has already been shown, at smaller scales, to have a positive impact within agricultural systems in particular. For Indonesian cocoa, increasing the amount of natural habitat has been found to boost numbers of key insects including pollinators. Our new study shows, however, that the benefits of this intervention are only found in less-intensive farming systems. This might mean reducing the level of inputs such as fertilisers and insecticides that are applied, or increasing crop diversity to ensure the benefits of nearby natural habitat can be felt.

It’s also important to note that not all species are enduring a hard time as a result of recent pressures. For example, recent work looking at UK insects has shown that while some groups have declined, others, including freshwater insects, have increased in recent years. Another study looking at worldwide insect trends also found increases in the numbers of freshwater insects. However, many of these positive trends have been reported in non-tropical regions such as the UK and Europe, where a lot has been done, for example, to improve the water quality of rivers in recent years, following past degradation.

Covid-19 helped many people to reconnect with animals and plants around us

The COVID-19 lockdowns prompted many of us to reconnect with the flora and fauna around us. In the UK, the warm spring weather of 2020 saw an apparent increase in the abundance of insects in the UK countryside. However, this spike was probably temporary, and something of an anomaly set against the bigger picture worldwide.

To support more insect biodiversity in our local environments, we can plant diverse gardens to attract insects, reduce the amount of pesticides used in gardens and allotments, and reduce how often we mow our lawns. (In the UK, you could consider joining the No Mow May challenge.) However, it is not just locally that we can make a difference. Considering the choices we make as consumers could help protect insects and other creatures in the tropics. For example, buying shade-grown coffee or cocoa will ensure a lesser impact on biodiversity than crops grown in the open.

Meanwhile, governments and other public and private organisations should consider more carefully the impact their actions and policies are having on insects. This could range from the proper consideration of biodiversity within trade policies and agreements, to ensuring that products are not sourced from areas associated with high deforestation rates.

And then there’s the data issue. We are increasingly recognising the importance of insects for human health and wellbeing, and their key role in global food production systems. Safeguarding the environment to protect insects into the future will have big benefits for human societies around the world. However, none of this is possible without good data.

One important step towards a better understanding of insect biodiversity change is to bring together and assess the data that is already available. A new project of which we are part, GLiTRS (GLobal Insect Threat-Response Synthesis), is doing this by combining the work of leading experts from a range of institutions and ecological disciplines, including data analysts. The project will then assess how different insect groups are responding to certain threats.

Understanding what is causing insect declines is key for preventing even greater losses in the future, and for safeguarding the valuable functions that insects perform. Climate change and biodiversity loss are major global crises that are two sides of the same coin. Their combined effects on food production mean the health, wellbeing and livelihoods of many people in the tropics and beyond are hanging in the balance. Insect biodiversity losses are a crucial, but as yet understudied, part of this story.

ENDS

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Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

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The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

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Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels

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The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction

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#Agriculture #AnimalBiodiversityNews #animalExtinction #biodiversity #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #climatechange #cocoa #consumerBoycott #deforestation #extinction #habitatloss #industrialAgriculture #insect #insects #meat #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #pollination #pollinator #SouthEastAsia #soy #Spiders #vegan

What the heck is “#CornSweat” and is it making the Midwest more dangerous?

It’s pretty much just as gross as it sounds.

"In one 2020 study, researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics analyzed a past summer heat wave in the Midwest and found that cropland — most of which comprised corn in this part of the country — can increase moisture in the air above it by up to 40 percent."

by Benji Jones
Aug 29, 2024

"Ah, yes, late August in the Midwest: a time for popsicles by the lake, a trip to the county fair, and, of course, extreme humidity made more miserable by … corn sweat.

"Corn sweat. It’s a thing! And people are talking about it.

The term refers to the moisture released by fields of corn during hot and sunny weather. Like all other plants, corn transpires — meaning, it sucks up water from the ground and expels it into the air as a way to stay cool and distribute nutrients. Moisture also enters the air when water in the soil evaporates. Together with transpiration, this process is called #evapotranspiration.

"So, where you find loads of plants packed tightly into one place, whether the Amazon rainforest or #Iowa, humidity can skyrocket during hot and especially sunny periods, making the air feel oppressive.

"That’s what happened this week: A late-summer #heatwave brought record and near-record temperatures to parts of the Midwest where there also happen to be vast fields of corn. With plenty of sunlight and temperatures in the high 90s, it was enough to make corn sweat, producing extremely uncomfortable weather.

"It’s not that corn sweats more than other plants — an acre releases less moisture on average than, say, a large oak tree — but the Midwest has a lot of corn in late August. In Iowa, for example, more than two-thirds of the area is farmland, and corn is the top crop (followed by #soybeans, which, by the way, also sweat)."

[...]

"Again, it’s not just crops across the #Midwest that release moisture, increase humidity, and make summers feel disgusting (I know firsthand; I grew up in Iowa). The millions of acres of #prairie that industrial farmland replaced — mostly to feed livestock and make ethanol — would have also produced loads of moisture, Basso said.

"But there are some key differences between native #ecosystems and #IndustrialFarmland, he added. '#NativePrairies are diverse ecosystems with a variety of plant species, each with different root depths and water needs, helping to create a balanced moisture cycle,' he told me. 'In contrast, corn and #soy #monocultures are uniform and can draw water from the soil more quickly.'"

Read more:
https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/369117/corn-sweat-explained-heat-wave-midwest?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

#CimateChange #IndustrialAgriculture #BigAg #Wetbulb #Fieldworkers #HeatWaves

We have here 28'000'000'000 kg of poop.

We have no place to store or get rid of it. Dutch poop anyone? Oh, and we should get rid of it by October 1, so if you're interested please hurry otherwise we're in trouble due to repeatedly breaking european law. Dankjewel! 💩🇳🇱❤️
Ps. This is no joke.

#TheNetherlands #IndustrialAgriculture #EU #industrialmeat #dairy

Think Like a Vegan: Industrial and small scale animal farming - a distinction without a difference

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thinklikeavegan/episodes/Industrial-and-small-scale-animal-farming---a-distinction-without-a-difference-e2kn4rq

Mp3 https://anchor.fm/s/89f274c8/podcast/play/87839034/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2024-7-8%2Fd7b464fb-56bb-c8e0-03b5-7ad5f1963af9.mp3

#govegan #animalfarm #welfare #industrialAgriculture #extensiveAgriculture

The man who warned us about UPFs: Michael Pollan on his 25-year fight with the food industry https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jun/06/the-man-who-warned-us-about-upfs-michael-pollan-on-his-25-year-fight-with-the-food-industry #usa #canada #IndustrialFarming #IndustrialAgriculture #UPF #PublicHealth #MentalHealth

Yet another example of #IndustrialAgriculture joining with #pesticidenmaffia to kill many people slowly. Apparently if you are a coalition of business interests, this is legal

https://climatejustice.social/@JdeB/112309246465694896

This, on the other hand, is a glimmer of doom. The #insectageddon has ramifications - not just for insects, but for all species that depend on insects in some ways from fish to birds to mammals, to both crops and wild plants that depend on insects pollination. And the EPA does this because the US #Agricultural industry chooses not to move to less toxic practices for pest control? #IntegratedPestManagement at the more invasive end, #Organic and #RegenerativeAgriculture at the least invasive end are widely practiced. Why do we tolerate #IndustrialAgriculture while knowing about the damage it does?

Perhaps you could contact your Senators and Representative in Washington and ask them to do something? It's easy to find their contact info at https://www.congress.gov/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/08/us-epa-toxic-pesticides-paralyse-bees-insects?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

https://redivider.emerson.edu/new-appalachia/ New Appalachia. A beautifully-written story of the people and land of San Joaquin Valley, California. #essay #PersonalEssay #ClimateCatastrophe #poverty #IndustrialAgriculture #agriculture #water #drought