UW Aquatic & Fishery Sciences Quantitative Seminar

Ray Hilborn

UW -- SAFS

Comparative Environmental impacts of food production: a meta analysis of a range of studies including fisheries, aquaculture, livestock and crops.

Abstract

In this talk I will summarize what is known about the environmental impacts of food production, as measured by energy consumption, greenhouse gas output, water needed, land area needed, contributions to eutrophication and acidification, and impact on biodiversity. There will be an emphasis on capture fisheries, but I now have data for aquaculture, livestock, and major crops. There are some clear results, shellfish culture, many crops, and purse seine fisheries for pelagics like herring and sardine, typically have among the lowest impacts. Beef production and some capture fisheries such as high seas longlining have the worst greenhouse gas footprints. Biodiversity impacts are particularly hard to measure and I will discuss the progress made and the problems encountered.