USDA, Dairy Producers Pledge to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced an agreement with dairy producers “to accelerate adoption of innovative manure-to-energy projects,” with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25 percent by 2020. USDA has vowed to work with farmers and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to develop and implement anaerobic digester technology, “a proven method of converting waste products, such as manure, into electricity.” According to USDA, only 2 percent of U.S. dairies that are candidates for a profitable digester are currently utilizing the technology, which can generate enough electricity to power 200 homes. The agency’s memorandum of understanding reportedly pledges to “increase the number of anaerobic digesters supported by USDA programs,” as well as develop “new technologies to help dairies reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Use of manure to electricity technology is a win for everyone because it provides an untapped source of income for farmers, provides a source of renewable electricity, reduces our dependence on foreign fossil fuels, and provides a wealth of additional environmental benefits,” stated Vilsack in a December 15, 2009, news release.

In a related development, the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) has published a report, titled Setting the Table: Advice to Government on Priority Elements of Sustainable Diets, that purportedly assesses “the environmental and health impacts of changing patterns of food consumption.” Commissioned by the UK Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the study apparently claims that “[a]round 18% of UK greenhouse gas emissions are related to food consumption and production,” and that “an estimated 70,000 premature deaths in the UK could be avoided if our diets matched nutritional guidelines.” The report includes several policy recommendations for creating guidance on sustainable diets, advising Defra “to develop, through the Food 2030 project, a shared vision among business, Government and civil society on advise to consumers and the food chain for a sustainable diet.” According to Setting the Table, Defra should partner with other UK and European agencies to “better align nutrition advice with environmental evidence” and promote sustainable diets at the international level.

Meanwhile, states SDC in a December 11, 2009, press release, consumers should work to reduce meat and dairy in their diets, eliminate food waste and cut out “food and drink of low nutritional value—including fatty and sugary foods.” The group has called for “all food advice generated across Government to incorporate environmental considerations as well as health guidance, and for sustainability criteria to be incorporated into public sector catering standards.” It has also asked Defra to coordinate research on “sustainability ‘hotspots’—including meat and dairy, fish, soy, and palm oil—and how different methods of production can affect sustainability.” See SDC Press Release, December 11, 2009.

Dairy UK, however, has since criticized the SDC report as too “narrow,” urging government to seek “a better balance between environmental, political and economic sustainability in consideration of the diet of the future.” The industry group’s December 11, 2009, statement argues that dairy production not only adds £8 billion to the UK economy each year, but that dairy farmers “also manage grazing land that is a major store of carbon.” In addition to cutting cattle methane emissions by 17 percent since 1990, dairy processors have apparently “saved more than 130,000 tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere in the last 10 years.”