Most of the efforts aimed at reducing climate change center on reducing the use of fossil fuels. But a new study warns that pollution caused by the world’s food production system is also a major driver of rising temperatures on the planet. The study found that if the world food system stays on its current growth path, it will produce nearly 1.4 trillion metric tons of greenhouse gases over the next 80 years. That pollution is expected to come from fertilizers used in agriculture, mismanaged soil, food waste and methane gas released from cows and other animals. Other causes include land-clearing operations and deforestation. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Oxford in Britain led the study, which recently appeared in the publication Science. The researchers predict that even if fossil fuel emissions were halted now, emissions from the world food system would make it impossible to reach current international climate change targets.

What is greenhouse gas?
a nursery that sells trees, shrubs, and flowers
relating to the warming of the atmosphere that is caused by air pollution
a temperature controlled shed for plants and flowers
fuel for trucks and automobiles
What is deforestation?
land-clearing operations
hiking trails in a forest
planting trees
a campfire
A major driver of rising temperatures on the planet is the food production system.
the food production system
the planting of new trees
the rising temperature of the sun
the pandemic