Here’s a three-part puzzle for global agriculture: How do you increase calories for a growing population, while zeroing out emissions and minimizing land usage?

The stakes are enormous. According to the UN, the world has to feed an estimated 9.8 billion people by 2050. But agriculture currently accounts for about a third of global carbon emissions and is driving the conversion of important ecosystems – like rainforest and grasslands – into farmland. Converting land is especially problematic because it releases additional carbon into the atmosphere.

So what do we do about it?

In this episode, Shayle talks to journalist Mike Grunwald, who recently penned a defense of industrial agriculture in The New York Times. He’s also the author of the upcoming book “We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate.” Shayle and Mike cover topics like:

Recommended resources

Simon & Schuster: We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate

The New York Times: Sorry, but This Is the Future of Food

Canary Media: Why vertical farming just doesn’t work

Reuters: Fertiliser ban decimates Sri Lankan crops as government popularity ebbs

Catalyst: Mitigating enteric methane: tech solutions for solving the cow burp problem

Catalyst: From biowaste to ‘biogold’

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