"Revealing the Surprising Carbon Footprint of Urban Agriculture"

A University of Michigan-led study finds that fruits and vegetables grown in urban farms and gardens have a carbon footprint six times greater than conventionally grown produce, with exceptions for certain crops like tomatoes and air-freighted produce. The study, published in Nature Cities, compared the carbon footprints of food produced at low-tech urban agriculture sites to conventional crops, revealing that urban agriculture emits 0.42 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per serving, significantly higher than conventional agriculture. The researchers identified best practices to make low-tech urban agriculture more carbon-competitive with conventional agriculture, emphasizing the importance of extending infrastructure lifetimes, using urban wastes as inputs, and generating high levels of social benefits.