Climate Change + Agriculture

Climate change threatens the stability of our global food systems, as farmers depend upon relatively stable climate systems to plan for production and harvest. Industrial agricultural and food system practices are a significant contributor to climate change, and it is essential that they be transformed to minimize generation of greenhouse gases and maximize carbon sequestration in plants and soils.

Therefore, we advocate an expeditious transition to farming methods that maximize both cultural and biological diversity, benefit local communities, improve rural livelihoods and preserve natural resources.

Useful Resource

The information shared on this page is from our national Sierra Club policies and guidelines.

Ag. + Land

Agricultural use of land, water, energy and other resources merits high priority but it is also recognized as having among the biggest negative impacts on land and water nationally and globally, so how and where agriculture is carried out is a vital public policy issue.  Common current practices such as large scale mono cropping and concentrated animal feeding systems consume disproportionate amounts of fossil fuels, pollute our water and air, deplete the soil, diminish biodiversity, and emit greenhouse gases. Such practices are neither economically, ecologically nor socially sustainable.

Ag. + Pollution

Agricultural water pollution can arise from land applied sewage sludge or poorly managed animal manures, from soil erosion, from application of toxic chemicals, and from unsustainable cropping systems that inherently leach nutrients into groundwater. It should be avoided through sustainably designed farming practices and regulations.  Where unavoidable, agricultural pollution control must be preventative, incorporate state of the art technologies and practices, and preferentially eliminate contaminants at source rather than through elaborate downstream treatment facilities.

Ag. + Water

Sustainable agricultural production should be defined, in part, by both clean water inputs and clean water outputs, whatever the nature of the sources, uses and quantities of water involved.  Water contaminated with pesticides or other toxic substances, particularly those that are persistent and/or systemic, should never be allowed to enter either surface or subsurface hydrological systems. Water used for irrigation, livestock watering, and on farm food processing should be tested to establish a baseline and retested at reasonable intervals for contaminants that threaten health or food safety. There should be a sound scientific basis for both the selected interval(s) and the identified contaminant(s)

Ag. + Livestock

The production of domesticated meat and animal products has a significant potential for environmental degradation because production can require large inputs of many types. Especially in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), pollution related to production can be grossly disproportionate to the amount of food produced. Protection of air quality, water quality, soil productivity and health, wildlife habitat, energy conservation and food safety and quality must be the highest priority. Animal grazing systems that mimic the natural ecosystems which created healthy soils, sequestered large amounts of carbon and fostered biodiversity are the preferred livestock production systems