Windmills tower over a soybean field on August 10, 2024 near Charles City, Iowa.
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Climate change is affecting our food and our food is affecting the climate. NPR spends a week stories and conversations about finding solutions.
As NPR climate solutions reporter Julia Simon “Modern agriculture is a major driver of climate change,” he said. “The powerful heat-trapping gases emitted from cows and fertilized soils, and the deforestation caused by the growing demand for food.”
You may even start to see changes in which plants thrive and which struggle to survive in your area: Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its hardness map (what can grow safely where) for the first time in 11 years. Gardeners and amateur growers alike are beginning to experience the changes. Recent wildfire smoke in the West could change Idaho’s potato harvest. Tribes in Michigan are opting out of tapping trees for maple syrup because warm and dry winter unseasonably.
But along with the challenges come efforts to find solutions. Communities across the country are tackling this challenge, so we’ve rounded up some examples from the NPR Network of how we can change the food we grow to support climate goals.
Using technology to advance agricultural science
Researchers at Cornell University are using a machine called a respiration chamber to precisely measure how much gas a cow exhales to better understand the emissions associated with dairy and meat farming. WSKG’s Rebecca Redelmeier reports, This data is essential to find out which feed additives are effective in reducing flatulence in cows and how to improve this condition.
➡️ LISTEN: Reimagining Our Meat System
➡️ The Future of Tomatoes in California’s Drought: Hydroponics?
Meanwhile, entomologist Brian Spiesman, a professor at Kansas State University, has created a new smartphone app called BeeMachine harnessing artificial intelligence to identify different bee species and study habitat loss. And as KCUR Kansas City reports“The app also allows the public to participate in documenting bees by taking photos when they spot them,” providing valuable insight into where bees live.
Some solutions start with respecting indigenous knowledge
As if Danny McArthur of Gulf States Newsroom report, “Environmentally conscious approaches to farming are getting more federal support in the United States. In the Gulf South, some small farmers are taking advantage of the billions of federal dollars now available for climate smart agriculture”
McArthur continued with three farms across Mississippi are using sustainable practices, some of which are a return to techniques that black farmers have used for generations. For this year’s Climate Solutions Week, McArthur also tracked Black-Owned Farms Grow Climate-Friendly Food.
➡️ How Seed Savers Exchange Works to Conserve America’s Crop Biodiversity
Others are bringing biodiversity back to their local ecosystems. Angie Comeaux started a native food forest on her farm in Florala, Ala., with thousands of native trees along with hundreds of plant species. The crops are grown in a way that fosters cooperation, designed to together grow stronger
How we use the land we have is important.
There is only a limited amount of land, and how we choose to use it often reflects our priorities as an economy. But some communities have begun to figure out ways to maximize productivity while also preserving the environment.
For example, like Frank Morris reports for Harvest Public Media“Solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity in the United States, but some new solar installations are taking over productive farmland. Scientists are trying to develop ways to get both calories and kilowatts from the same land.” So researchers are experimenting with different types of row crops, flowering plants, and vegetables to see which can coexist successfully. with solar panels.
Meanwhile, in areas where people are settling closer together, urban farming opens up a world of opportunity — and new challenges to overcome. As WFAE’s Zachary Turner reports, a developer in Charlotte, NC, is trying to build a 1,400-acre mixed-use community centered around an urban farm.
Another attempt in Charlotte urban farmers cooperative and an insurance company that not only helps grow food, but also provides education about food and farming, and makes it easier to eat locally.
