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"If farmers increased silvopasture acreage from approximately 550 million hectares today to about 770 million hectares by 2050 (1.36 billion acres to 1.9 billio

"If farmers increased silvopasture acreage from approximately 550 million hectares today to about 770 million hectares by 2050 (1.36 billion acres to 1.9 billion acres), Drawdown estimated carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced over those 30 years by up to 42 gigatons — more than enough to offset all of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans globally in 2015, according to NOAA — and could return $206 billion to $273 billion on investment."

the8472 6y ago
That means 30 years of work + maintaining the results indefinitely afterwards to offset 1 year worth of emissions?
- nothal 6y ago
  With a return of billions though? Most profit requires effort.
  - xwdv 6y ago
    Billions have less value the farther into the future they are, unless you can take out a loan with it.
zdragnar 6y ago
Note that silvopasture is a combination of livestock grazing pasture and trees. The opposite method it would replace is the factory farm where animals are much more concentrated (with all the moral issues involved). The problem, I think, is one of volume- I don't see the factory farms shutting down in favor of techniques that require broader skill sets (tree harvesting, land management) beyond what they are already hiring for and investing technology in, especially since per-square-area production of meat is substantially smaller. I would love to see factory farms convert to silvopasture, especially if that means lower prices for things like nuts, but the broader skill set and management challenges make me think they will continue to be niche competitors to, not replacements of, our current supply.
- riffraff 6y ago
  > if that means lower prices for things like nuts, aren't nuts in the US stupid cheap as it is? American almonds are everywhere in Europe, and cost less than locally grown ones. (And they taste of nothing, I am not sure if it's because they get harvested earlier, because of preservation or because of the cultivar)
  - zdragnar 6y ago
    As for almonds, probably a combination of cultivar and picking time. Some nuts are still very expensive, though, and pound for pound beef can be cheaper than many.

the8472 6y ago

That means 30 years of work + maintaining the results indefinitely afterwards to offset 1 year worth of emissions?

nothal 6y ago
With a return of billions though? Most profit requires effort.
- xwdv 6y ago
  Billions have less value the farther into the future they are, unless you can take out a loan with it.

zdragnar 6y ago

Note that silvopasture is a combination of livestock grazing pasture and trees. The opposite method it would replace is the factory farm where animals are much more concentrated (with all the moral issues involved). The problem, I think, is one of volume- I don't see the factory farms shutting down in favor of techniques that require broader skill sets (tree harvesting, land management) beyond what they are already hiring for and investing technology in, especially since per-square-area production of meat is substantially smaller. I would love to see factory farms convert to silvopasture, especially if that means lower prices for things like nuts, but the broader skill set and management challenges make me think they will continue to be niche competitors to, not replacements of, our current supply.

riffraff 6y ago
> if that means lower prices for things like nuts, aren't nuts in the US stupid cheap as it is? American almonds are everywhere in Europe, and cost less than locally grown ones. (And they taste of nothing, I am not sure if it's because they get harvested earlier, because of preservation or because of the cultivar)
- zdragnar 6y ago
  As for almonds, probably a combination of cultivar and picking time. Some nuts are still very expensive, though, and pound for pound beef can be cheaper than many.