Best Practices for Promoting Sustainability in the Food and Agriculture Sector

Implementing sustainable food and agriculture practices can aid businesses in reducing carbon emissions, fostering social sustainability, and saving money.

Fremont, CA: The ever-increasing global population and increased environmental awareness have produced a demand for environmentally responsible corporate operations. Sustainable business practices vary across industries and are well suited to the sort of organization and the product or service it produces. Some businesses may install energy-efficient lighting and provide flexible work hours, while others may invest in sustainable material procurement and a cleaner production process. Sustainable business methods in the agriculture and food industries are meant to protect the environment, reduce waste output, boost productivity, and reduce operating costs.

Business practices promoting sustainability in the food and agriculture sector:

Methane digesters

Waste is generated daily in the agriculture and food industries, from creating food to its processing, distribution, and consumption. Without careful management, decomposing organic waste can generate methane gas. On a 100-year timescale, methane molecules that enter the atmosphere provide a warming effect that is up to 34 times larger than carbon dioxide. The emission of methane gas into the environment can be regulated by the use of methane digesters that convert food waste into biogas and digestrate solids. Biogas can help businesses save money by lowering their operational expenses. In addition, excess biogas can be sold to nearby enterprises and utility grids, providing a source of cash for businesses.

Composting

Composting allows food and agricultural enterprises that cannot afford biodigesters to manage their organic waste and reduce the quantity of garbage transferred to landfills. In addition, the composting process prevents methane emissions, which contribute to global warming, and turns organic matter into beneficial fertilizer that may be utilized to increase soil quality and plant development. In addition, composting helps restaurants and farms reduce their waste hauling and disposal costs.

Nutrient management

Proper nutrient management in agricultural systems is necessary to increase fertilizer-use efficiency, ensure that crops absorb a greater proportion of the applied fertilizer, and reduce the likelihood of nitrogen from fertilizers seeping into groundwater or traveling via surface runoff to streams and rivers, thereby causing algal blooms and oxygen-depleted oceanic dead zones. By aligning fertilizer selection with plant requirements, regulating fertilizer applications to deliver nitrogen when and where crop demand is greatest, and applying the correct amount of fertilizer to prevent water pollution, farm owners can lower their environmental footprint.