It is estimated that globally, 8-10% of total greenhouse gas emissions are a direct result of food waste. Canadians contribute to that global total, creating an estimated 50 million tonnes of food waste every year. Meanwhile, emissions from manure represent 20% of a farm’s carbon footprint. These two challenges may seem unrelated, but there is an emerging agricultural solution that can both reduce food waste and transform the emissions from food and animal waste into energy and fertilizer: anaerobic biodigesters. Host Crystal Mackay chats with George Dick, owner of Dicklands Biogas, about how biodigesters work and what is needed for biodigesters to become a more feasible option for more farms across Canada. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:05 Food waste statistics 02:22 Understanding anaerobic biodigesters 03:55 Why purchase a biodigester? 05:00 The need for education and support in biodigester adoption 07:25 Procuring food waste 08:35 What would make biodigesters more popular? 10:00 The challenge and economics of procuring food waste 11:20 The market for a fertilizer pellet 13:00 Opportunities for biodigesters in the agricultural sector 14:30 Recognizing the Progress and Importance of Agriculture 16:00 Advice for farmers Links: Video: Carbon Farming 101 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRY8hujkNMM&t=72s E-book: Taking Action on Methane Emissions (CANZA) https://canza.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Taking-Action-on-Agricultural-Methane-Biodigester-Opportunity-E-Book-March-2024.pdf Video: How a biodigester works (Saskatchewan Research Council) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMX1Na-_oUg Video: Monument Farm’s biodigester (Vermont Public) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlVxuqORXe4&t=16s Food Waste Statistics in Canada (Made in CA) https://madeinca.ca/food-waste-canada-statistics/ Food Waste Key Statistics (Newmarket Food Pantry) https://newmarketfoodpantry.ca/food-rescue-program/#:~:text=Redirecting%20surplus%20edible%20food%20could,complexity%20hinder%20surplus%20food%20donations Canadians create over 50 million tonnes of food waste every year. Canada has pledged to reduce that by half: https://madeinca.ca/food-waste-canada-statistics/ Redirecting surplus edible food could save 3.82 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of food: https://newmarketfoodpantry.ca/food-rescue-program/#:~:text=Redirecting%20surplus%20edible%20food%20could,complexity%20hinder%20surplus%20food%20donations In Canada emissions from farm manure represent up to one fifth (18%) of a farm’s carbon footprint: https://dairyfarmersofcanada.ca/en/sustainability/manure-management#:~:text=The%20best%20scientific%20estimate%20we,impact%20each%20individual%20farm's%20footprint Host: Crystal Mackay https://ca.linkedin.com/in/crystal-mackay-683b26a Producers: Meredith Martin https://twitter.com/meredithmartin and Cara Stern https://twitter.com/carastern Production coordinator: Rebecca Babcock https://ca.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-babcock Music: Dustin Stern http://dustinspace.com The Ag Podcast is produced by Generate Canada https://generatecanada.ca/ with support from Co-operators https://www.cooperators.ca/en/insurance/farm and the Smart Prosperity Institute https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/ Questions or comments? Reach out to us at info@canza.ca