Farmland Protection | Food Systems

This briefing paper argues for another benefit of farmland preservation: helping to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals. It examines the connections between the urbanization of farmland and increases in greenhouse gas emissions and estimates the potential greenhouse gas emissions avoidance for the state of California based on a goal of reducing statewide farmland conversion by 50 percent compared to the current trend by the year 2030 and further reducing it by 75 percent by the year 2050.