Hot potato: Force-multiplying technological innovation for food and agricultural decarbonization

Edited by: BERTRAND J. NEYHOUSE1

Despite being a widely recognized problem, there is little U.S. public sector support for development of technologies that can directly or indirectly mitigate agricultural emissions, particularly at the production step of the supply chain. Increasing government funding in research and development (R\&D) of food and agriculture innovations, such as rumen methane mitigation and alternative protein production could spur much needed innovation in mitigation of agricultural emissions and enable commercial adoption of these technologies.

Highlights

1. Public spending for agricultural R&D does not match its potential impact on emissions.

2. Enteric fermentation and alternative protein production are two promising research areas that could have significant impact on agricultural emissions.

3. Increasing public R&D spending has the potential to accelerate private investment and serve as a strong incentive to accelerate industry adoption of new technologies.

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