#1FOOD SYSTEMS CONSIDERATIONS FOR RI ACT ON CLIMATE photo: Pat's Pastured (East Greenwich, RI) EC4 ADVISORY BOARD MEETING . APRIL 27, 2022 +Relish RHODY RI FOOD POLICY COUNCIL Julianne Stelmaszyk | Director of Food Strategy, RI Commerce Nessa Richman | Network Director, RI Food Policy Council#2OUTLINE +Relish RHODY RI FOOD POLICY COUNCIL Introductions State food strategy goals Food system GHG emissions Opportunities for mitigation & adaptation#3CAPITAL ACCESS LAND ACCESS WASTE CONSUMPTION CLEAN AIR FARMS & FISHERIES PRODUCTION RI FOOD SYSTEM RETAIL CLEAN SOIL PROCESSING ☑ DISTRIB SUPPORTIVE POLICY CLEAN WATER#4B Food Flows: Downscaled to All Counties#5Agricultural Product (SCTG 3) Flows Into New England West Coast 223 million Inland West 67.2 million Idaho pounds pounds California Southwest 9.2 million Key pounds 53.9% New England (self loops and interstate transfers) 30.0% Northeast Texas New England: 8.6 billion pounds ME 4.6 ME billion Top destination pounds Northeast Midwest 2.6 780 billion million pounds pounds NJ Ohio Southeast 271 million pounds 9.1% Midwest 3.2% Southeast 2.6% West Coast 0.8% Inland West 0.1% Southwest Top originating state from region Florida Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) 3: Agricultural products including fresh, chilled, or dried vegetables; fruits and nuts; oil seeds; bulbs; live plants; seeds; mushroom spawn; flowers; cotton; sugar; (excludes animal feed, cereal grains, and forage products). Source: Xiaowen Lin, Paul J. Ruess, Landon Marston, and Megan Konar, "Food flows between counties in the United States," Environmental Research Letters, 14(8), 2019, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab29ae/meta.#6Major Climate Risks by US Agricultural Production Regions ORCHARDS WHEAT FORAGE VEGETABLES FORAGE Wildfires FORAGE VEGETABLES FRUIT MILK NUTS San Diego County: Very High Water Stress Risk Sea Level Rise ORCHARDS VEGETABLES VEGETABLES MILK FORAGE WHEAT CORN T VEGETABLES MILK Water Stress FORAGE HOGS CORN HOGS SOYBEANS CORN CORN CORN FORAGE FORAGE WHEAT FORAGE ORCHARDS ORCHARDS BEEF Extreme Heat FORAGE POULTRY MILK BEEF FORAGE FORAGE MILK Extreme Rainfall BEEF FORAGE POULTRY HOGS POULTRY ORCHARDS FORAGE POULTRY BEEF Hurricanes BEEF VORCHARDS {MILK POULTRY VEGETABLES Sources: Stuart A. Thompson and Yaryna Serkez, "Every Place Has Its Own Climate Risk. What Is It Where You Live?," The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/18/opinion/wild- fire-hurricane-climate.html. Based on data from Four Twenty Seven. Major agricultural products data based on USDA Ag Atlas Maps.#7FOOD STRATEGY PRIORITIES FOR 2022 In 2017, RI launched its first-ever statewide food strategy envisioning a sustainable, equitable food system that is uniquely Rhode Island; one that build on our traditions, strengths, and history while encouraging innovation. +Relish RHODY RHODE ISLAND FOOD STRATEGY AN ACTIONABLE VISION FOR FOOD IN RHODE ISLAND Environment & Resiliency Economic Development Health & Access INTEGRATED FOCUS AREAS: Preserve & Grow Agriculture, Fisheries Industries in Rhode Island Enhance the Climate for Food & Beverage Businesses Sustain & Create Markets for Rhode Island Food, Beverage Products Ensure Food Security for all Rhode Islanders Minimize Food Waste & Divert it from the Waste Stream#8FOOD SYSTEM × CLIMATE Gross GHG Emissions by Economic Sector in 2018 Transportation Electricity Consumption Residential Heating Industry Commercial Heating Waste Natural Gas Distribution 4.45 MMTCO2e 3.34 MMTCO2e 2.32 MMTCO2e 1.19 MMTCO2e 0.98 MMTCO2e 0.22 MMTCO2e 0.14 MMTCO2e 35.0% 26.4% 18.3% 9.4% 7.7% 1.7% 1.1% Agriculture 0.05 MMTCO2e 0.4% 2018 Gross GHG Emissions RI Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990 v. 2018 SECTOR Transportation -0.52 CHANGE IN PERCENT MMTCO2E CHANGE -10.4% TREND Electricity Consumption 0.52 18.5% 12.70 Residential Heating -0.05 -2.0% Industrial Heating & Processes 0.38 46.5% million metric tons of CO₂e Commercial Heating -0.17 -14.8% Other -0.24 -36.9% Total 0.22 1.8% 1990-2018 Change Statewide Net GHG Accretions (1990-2018) 1.8% 유유 Land Use Change Aboveground changes in blomass from deforestation, and below ground changes in soil carbon 同品 Farm Methane emissions from cows, methane from rice, emissions from fertilizers, manure, and farm machinery Animal Feed On farm emissions from crop production and its processing into feed for livestock Processing Emissions from energy use in the process of converting raw agricultural products Into final food items Transport Emissions from energy use in the transport of food items in country and Internationally Retail Emissions from energy use in refrigeration and other retail processess Packaging Emissions from the production of packaging materials, material transport and end-of-life disposal source: Neufeld, Visual Capitalist (2020)#9FOOD SYSTEMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 1/3 OF GLOBAL GHG EMISSIONS source: Cippa, Solazzo et al. Nature (2021)#1037% OF US FOOD EMISSIONS COME FROM ENERGY (PACKAGING AND TRANSPORTATION) Globe Industrialized 18 4.9 Gt CO, United States 11% 2% 50% 37% Outer circle: Land based Energy Industry Waste Land based Energy Inner circle: LULUC Packaging Production Retail Transport Consumption Processing End of life Industry Waste source: Cippa, Solazzo et al. Nature (2021)#11GHG Emissions from RI Food Waste? HYU Earth Care Farm compost facility - Charlestown, RI 20% FOOD WASTE 322,290 TONS 80% SOLID WASTE TONS OF COMPOSTABLE WASTE GOING INTO THE CENTRAL RI LANDFILL (2017)#12CLIMATE MITIGATION STRATEGIES VIA FOOD SYSTEM PROJECT DRAWDOWN 80 SOLUTIONS CO2-EQ: 1,035 GT COST: $29.6T SAVINGS: $74.4T Wave and Tidal Multistrata Agroforestry District Heating Electric Vehicles Concentrated Solar Improved Rice Cultivation Farmland Restoration Wind Turbines (Offshore) Clean Cookstoves Nuclear Managed Grazing Geothermal Tree Intercropping Conservation Agriculture Afforestation Tropical Staple Trees Ranked by potential emissions reduction (CO2eq GT), 2020-2050, as modeled in Project Drawdown's Plausible Scenario (2017). Refrigeration Other Peatlands Temperate Forest Regenerative Agriculture Wind Turbines (Onshore) Reduced Food Waste Plant-Rich Diet Tropical Forests Educating Girls Family Planning Silvopasture Solar Farms Rooftop Solar FOOD SYSTEM SOLUTIONS#13THE GOOD NEWS: AGRICULTURAL LAND AND PRODUCTIVE OCEANS REPRESENT HUGE CARBON SINKS#145 CORE PRINCIPLES OF REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE MINIMIZE SOIL DISTURBANCE KEEP THE SOIL COVERED INTEGRATE LIVESTOCK MAXIMIZE MAINTAIN LIVING CROP DIVERSITY ROOT YEAR-ROUND#15RI AGRICULTURE & AQUACULTURE Aquaculture Farms & Acreage Under Lease 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 1996 -Number of Farms -Acreage Under Lease 347.5 319 3 295.93 339.08 274.53 17 2 28 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 30 51.560.88 85 70.3 146 18 53.7520 22 24 28 30 99 157.5 181 241.38 195.55 206.2 33 43 2006 2007 38 52 2008 2009 50 61 73 2010 55 2011 70 2012 76 2013 81 83 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 1997 source: CMRC 2020, RIFPC, USDA Census of Agriculture (multiple years) 55,000 acres of farmland 1,200+ crop farms 347 acres under aquaculture production#16POTENTIAL FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES TO REDUCE GHG EMISSIONS IN RI American Farmland Trust estimates that... Rhode Island could reduce 1,800 to 4,200 tonnes CO2e per year by adopting conservation practices on existing croplands which equates to planting 30,000 - 70,000 new trees for a decade. A win-win scenario that.. →improves long-term agricultural productivity and food ↑ T security mitigates GHG emissions improves water quality#17$16,000/ACRE HIGHEST COST OF FARMLAND IN THE NATION SPECIAL REPORT FARMS UNDER THREAT A NEW ENGLAND PERSPECTIVE RHODE ISLAND Threatened by Low- Density Residential Development | 1,300 ACRES 36% New Findings to Guide Our Work and Inspire Action American Farmland Trust SAVING THE LAND THAT SURTAINS US BY JAMIE B. POTTERN AND LAURA N. BARLEY 10 Miles Agricultural Land Developed and Threatened State Significant All Other Urban Areas Non-agricultural Lands 2,300 ACRES 64% Converted to Urban and Highly- Developed Use#18FOOD SYSTEMS IN STATE CLIMATE PLANS FOUR-YEAR PLAN FOR IMATE ACTION MAINE WON'T WAIT MAINE DECEMBER 2020 CLIMATE COUNCIL Increase the amount of food consumed in Maine from state food producers from 10% to 20% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 through local food system development Launch the Maine Seafood Business Council by 2022#19A CLIMATE-SMART FOOD SYSTEM CONSIDERS... How we grow and distribute food Leverages ocean biomass as carbon sinks How and what we eat How we dispose of food waste and wasted food OUR ASK: • Include a food systems perspective on taskforce • Include food systems in State climate plans#20QUESTIONS?#21RI FOOD POLICY COUNCIL Connect with us JULI STELMASZYK Director of Food Strategy, RI Commerce [email protected] NESSA RICHMAN Network Director, RI Food Policy Council [email protected] RHODE ISLAND COMMERCE