Giving Compass' Take:
- Theresa Lieb discusses how deforestation is often the focus of climate action, but grassland being converted into row-crop agriculture is a conservation issue as well.
- How can issues of grassland conversion be foregrounded more in conversations about protecting the environment?
- Learn about zero-deforestation commitments.
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Deforestation has been the poster child of the environmental movement for decades. For good reason, as healthy forests are of primary importance for biodiversity, climate and local livelihoods. But they’re not the only ecosystem we should be concerned about.
In the U.S., temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands, mostly found in the Great Plains, are the most endangered native landscape. A new analysis by World Wildlife Fund shows that in 2019 alone, 2.6 million acres of intact grassland were converted into row-crop agriculture. This represents an area larger than Yellowstone National Park.
This is the bad news for climate activists, birders, hunters, ranchers and downstream communities. The good news is that more of these groups have woken up to the problem and are joining forces to collaborate with policy-makers and companies to conserve and restore these important landscapes.
So what exactly is happening and how can we all get involved?
WWF’s report shows that nearly 70 percent of the newly converted acres across the Great Plains were used for three crops: corn (25 percent); soy (22 percent); and wheat (21 percent). Within the Northern Great Plains area, which still has the most intact native ecosystem and is therefore of special concern, 42 percent of the converted land was used for wheat production. What’s driving this agricultural expansion?
Supply chain transparency and traceability are lacking in the U.S. commodity market, making it difficult to directly link increased pressures to specific food products or companies. But Patrick Lendrum, science lead for the WWF's Northern Great Plains program, points to a general trend he’s observing: Prices for corn and soy — used primarily for ethanol and livestock feed, and secondarily for human consumption — are increasing. Farmers respond by planting corn and soy on their most productive acres, displacing wheat to more marginal land. This might explain the particular uptick in wheat production in the Northern Great Plains, where soil quality is poorer and not irrigated but still suitable for dryland wheat production.
Read the full article about conversion-free supply chains by Theresa Lieb at GreenBiz.