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A12 science
Monday 9 noveMber 2020
Study: Fix to food climate problem doesn't require veganism

By SETH BORENSTEIN "There are many innova-
AP Science Writer tions that are possible with
The world likely can't keep stopping food waste as
global warming to a rela- well as stopping unsustain-
tively safe minimum unless able practices such as cut-
we change how we grow, ting tropical forests for soy
eat and throw away our production and its export
food, but we don't need to as (animal) feed," said Po-
all go vegan, a new study ertner, who wasn't part of
says. the study. "It cannot be ig-
Researchers looked at five nored that reducing meat
types of broad fixes to the consumption to sustainable
food system and calcu- levels would be important."
lated how much they fight A Mediterranean diet of
warming. They found that less meat and animal fats,
sampling a buffet of par- along with cutting portions,
tial fixes for all five, instead would do the trick and
of just diving into the salad make people healthier, Hill
bar, can get the job done, said.
according to a study pub- "Something like convinc-
lished in Thursday's journal ing the whole world to go
Science. vegan was always going to
If the world food system be an impossible large sell,''
keeps on current trajecto- said Breakthrough Institute
ries, it will produce near 1.5 climate director Zeke Haus-
trillion tons of greenhouse father, who wasn't part of
gases (almost 1.4 trillion In this Dec. 9, 2015 file photo, cattle graze in a pasture against a backdrop of wind turbines near the study. "This paper shows
metric tons) over the next Vesper, Kan. that a mix of different be-
80 years, the study found. Associated Press havioral and technological
That's coming from belch- solutions can make a real
ing cows, fertilizer, mis- waste less food." better and doing better half way, emissions would difference."
managed soil and food The researchers from the crop rotation — it would plummet by almost 940 bil- While most of the world's
waste. That much emissions United States and the Unit- slice nearly 600 billion tons lion tons (850 billion metric heat-trapping gases come
— even if the globe stops ed Kingdom found: of greenhouse gases (540 tons). And that, with fossil from the burning of coal,
burning fossil fuels which — A nearly complete billion metric tons). fuel emissions cuts, would oil and natural gas, one-
produce twice as much switch to a plant-rich diet — If farms could increase give the world a fighting quarter to one-third of the
carbon pollution as food around the world could yield through genetics and chance of preventing an- greenhouse gases come
— is enough to likely warm slash almost 720 billion tons other methods, it would other 0.5 to 1.3 degrees from agriculture, Hill said.
Earth by more than the of greenhouse gases (650 trim almost 210 billion tons (0.3 to 0.7 degrees Celsius) John Roy Porter, a profes-
goals set in the 2015 Paris billion metric tons). of greenhouse gases (190 of warming, which the Paris sor of agriculture at the
climate accord. — If almost everyone ate billion metric tons). accord aims to do, the University of Montpellier in
"The whole world doesn't the right number of calories — If people waste less food study found. France, said some of the
have to give up meat for us based on their age, around either on their plates, in res- Hans-Otto Poertner, who calculations from Hill's study
to meet our climate goals," 2,100 calories a day for taurants or by getting it to leads the United Nations double counted emissions,
said study co-author Jason many adults, it would cut people in poorer countries, science panel looking at which Hill disputes, and
Hill, a biosystems engineer- about 450 billion tons of that would eliminate nearly world climate change said he worried that "the
ing professor at the Univer- greenhouse gases (410 bil- 400 billion tons of green- impacts, said the study only people really to profit
sity of Minnesota. "We can lion metric tons). house gases (360 billion makes sense in laying out from such a paper will be
eat better, healthier foods. — If farming got more car- metric tons). the many paths to achiev- the fossil fuel lobby who
We can improve how we bon efficient — by using Or if the world does each ing the needed emission can divert attention from
grow foods. And we can less fertilizer, managing soil of those five things but only reductions. oil wells to farmers' fields."q

Virgin Galactic plans 1st New Mexico space launch this month

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vir- spaceport will be Virgin (80 kilometers) before it
gin Galactic said Thursday Galactic's base for launch- descends and glides to a
that it expects to launch its ing passengers on brief trips landing on a runway.
first manned test flight into high above the Earth, start- In addition to passengers,
space from New Mexico ing with billionaire founder Unity can carry small sci-
this month. The compa- Richard Branson next year. ence experiments and will
ny's spacecraft, VSS Unity, The company did not an- do so on this month's flight,
conducted two previous nounce a specific date generating some revenue
test spaceflights from Mo- for that event. Unity is de- through a NASA program.
jave, California, before signed to be carried aloft Virgin Galactic also has
moving in to its facilities beneath a special carrier made progress on a
at Spaceport America in jet and released at high second spaceship in its
New Mexico. Testing there altitude, where its rocket planned fleet and plans
In this Feb. 13, 2020, file photo, Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity departs has included unpowered engine is ignited. The sub- to roll it out during the first
Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, Calif. glide flights and now the orbital flights are designed quarter of 2021, CEO Mi-
Associated Press spaceflight planned be- to send the craft to an al- chael Colglazier said in a
By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press tween Nov. 19 and 23. The titude of at least 50 miles statement.q