Multilevel analysis of land reallocation and carbon emissions through food trade

The globalization of food consumption represents that one country mitigate domestic land resources scarcity by trading food. Land for production is actually being reallocated among countries, and the consequent carbon emissions are flowing across regions. However, it remains unclear what the patterns and features of land reallocation and carbon emission at the diverse levels globally. This study applied physical trade flow and agglomerative clustering analysis to elucidate the patterns and connection of land reallocation and carbon emission transfer though food trade from 2001 to 2021. The results show that global land reallocation increased from 1.67 to 3.10 million km², primarily provided by America. The global land reallocation is classified into five patterns, China is classified as the “dependents” in the global land reallocation patterns, while the United States and Brazil are the “monopolists”. The “suppliers” is comprised of five countries which are the main providers of land reallocation. Fifteen land-reliant countries are classified as “demanders”, while most of countries are classified as “balancers” self-sufficient in land. Carbon emissions from land reallocation have risen by 136 million tons during two decades, with Asia and Europe transfer pollution to South America, and Brazil becoming the largest emitter. Moreover, the arable land, government investment in agriculture and population are the major drivers of embodied carbon emissions. This study underscores the redistributive effects of food trade on land, which is significant for optimizing the global allocation of land resources and achieving the sustainable agriculture.