Obama speech highlights environmental impact of agriculture
Barack Obama has devoted his first speech outside the US since leaving office to the impact of agriculture on climate change. Speaking at the Milan Seeds & Chips conference, which focuses on innovations in the food chain, Obama noted that agriculture was the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gas after the energy sector. Climate change is already causing “shrinking yields and rising food prices,” he added. Obama also observed that famine could increase the refugee crisis in Europe.
MILAN — Michelle Obama has long been one of the world’s best-known advocates for healthier food production and better eating, but it was her husband who showed up here on Tuesday to talk about climate change and the challenges it presented to feeding the world’s growing population.

Former President Barack Obama gave his first speech outside the United States since leaving office at the Seeds & Chips conference, an annual gathering of policy makers, investors and technology entrepreneurs focused on innovations to improve the food chain.

His brief speech was devoted to agriculture’s role in climate change, noting that after energy, agriculture is the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Now, he said, those emissions are starting to take their toll on food production itself. “Our changing climate is already making it more difficult to produce food,” he said. “We’ve already seen shrinking yields and rising food prices.”

He said the costs would be borne most by the poor, noting that many of the refugees seeking sanctuary in Europe are driven not by conflict but by famine.