Combining Organic Agriculture With A Reduction In The Use Of Concentrate Feed And A Reduction In Food Waste Can Significantly Increase The Sustainability Of The Luxembourgish Food System

Summary

Context: Agriculture is not only contributing to the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change, nitrogen over-supply and biodiversity loss, but it is also affected by them. The sustainability of the agricultural sector is also influenced by consumers through their food choices.
Objective: The aim was to identify changes in agricultural practices and dietary habits to increase the sustainability of the Luxembourgish food system.
Methods: The Sustainable and Organic Livestock model (SOLm), a bottom-up mass flow model, was used to model the Luxembourgish food system. The model provides detailed results on production patterns and all animal and plant activities are associated with a range of environmental impacts (land use, N and P surplus, non-renewable energy use, GHG emissions, water use, pesticide use, deforestation, soil erosion). SOLm also calculates food availability for each scenario. Three future scenarios for 2050 were calculated: increase in organic agriculture (0 % - 100 %), reduction in the use of concentrate feed (0 % - 100 %) and the reduction of food waste (0 % - 50 %).
Results and Conclusions: Through combinations of the three modelled scenarios, a significant increase of the sustainability of the Luxembourg food system would be possible, mainly through the reduction in animal, especially ruminant, numbers. Overall, the yield losses associated to the increase in organic farming could be compensated by reducing food waste and the use of concentrate feedstuff, maximizing the cultivation of food instead of feed. To reduce GHG emissions, maximise food sovereignty, preserve environmental resources and sufficient nitrogen supply simultaneously, 75 % organic farming, 25 % less food waste and at 50 % less concentrate feed should be targeted. This would result in a 50% reduction in GHG emissions, a 50% reduction in ammonia emissions and attain 32% caloric self-sufficiency.