The future of food production amid global change
When it comes to impacting global change, agriculture cuts both ways. Subject to the vicissitudes of global climate change, population, and economic growth, the cultivation of crops and livestock alters atmospheric concentrations of planet-warming greenhouse gases and ]contributes to pollution of freshwater and coastal areas. Assessing the risks to and from the agriculture sector — and identifying opportunities for the sector to thrive amid global change — is both urgent and essential. To explore challenges and opportunities for the sector, the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change convened a one-day workshop, “Agriculture and Global Change: Driving Forces, Contributions to Global Change, and Climate Risks,” on the MIT campus on Nov. 1. Drawing about 100 in-person and online registrants from industry, government, and academia, the conference was the third of the program’s workshop series. Previous workshops have explored water and energy issues. Throughout the day, attendees engaged in detailed discussions with...