InGrained: New Kellogg program to help rice farmers reduce climate impact
Did you know?
- More than 4 billion people rely on rice as a primary source of nourishment? That’s more than half the world’s population.1
- Rice production, unfortunately, accounts for an estimated 12% of total global methane emissions.2
- Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.2
Kellogg had to do something about this.
So, we’ve created InGrained™ – a five-year program that will help Lower Mississippi River Basin rice farmers reduce their climate impact. Much of the rice we use to make Kellogg’s Rice Krispies® and Kellogg’s Special K® cereals is from this area, so we want to ensure benefits to people and planet are “ingrained” in our foods.
It’s a natural fit with our broader Kellogg’s Better Days™ ESG strategy, which aims to support 1 million farmers and workers and reduce scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions across our value chain by 15%, by the end of 2030.
What’s involved?
Support for farmers from Kellogg – both financially ($2 million USD) and through training.
We will provide training opportunities in irrigation management, nutrient management and soil health to support farmers’ transition to new practices. Then, we’ll reward them financially for every ton of GHGs their new practices help reduce.
The program will be trial and error and will present it’s share of challenges. But we believe in the power of partnership and know that we need to test and learn before we can make progress.
But don’t just take it from us – check out this blog authored by Meryl Kennedy, a rice farmer from Louisiana who is participating in InGrained™.
[1] https://ricepedia.org/rice-as-food/the-global-staple-rice-consumers#:~:text=Rice%20is%20the%20staple%20food,20%25%20of%20their%20daily%20calories
[2] https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials
