New York Climate Week - food is now on the climate menu

This year, food systems were on the menu at New York Climate Week. 

For the first time, a whole day was devoted to the huge challenge of changing our food system. Food Day was the recognition of a troubling fact: without fixing our broken food system, we cannot meet climate goals. 

However, only 2% of climate philanthropy currently goes towards this goal. 

The climate crisis is an existential one. How we currently produce and consume food, particularly the split between plant and animal protein in many Global North countries, is a key contributor to this crisis and fixing it is an essential part of the solution. Until now, efforts to tackle this issue have sat in the shadow of other urgent changes like the energy transition. 

Food and Climate

But Food Day, hosted by our partners Tilt Collective, was one of the green shoots starting to appear in the climate movement, recognising the need for swift and ambitious changes to the food system. 

One hugely encouraging aspect of New York Climate Week was the mix of representatives from the health, climate and animal welfare communities coming together to call for more plants and fewer animal-sourced foods in our diets. 

This sort of collaboration is essential if we are to face up to the huge challenge of delivering a protein transition - rebalancing the animal vs plant protein in many diets worldwide. 

Food systems work needs investment

But it cannot be done without financial backing. We hope events like Food Day help philanthropy reappraise its focus on fossil fuels to give food system transformation efforts the investment they need to succeed and have a lasting impact on the future of our planet. As with everything related to this desperate climate crisis we are now in, this needs to happen quickly. 

There are encouraging signs from cities and the private sector, where leaders are already making changes that put them ahead of the curve.

The host city itself has an impressive plant powered carbon challenge, a pioneering approach to rebalance the plant vs animal protein offering across the five boroughs.  

And in a session Madre Brava hosted alongside the Plant Based Foods Association, we heard from Daniella Vega, VP of Health and Sustainability with Ahold Delhaize about the retailer’s groundbreaking commitments to shift its protein ratio in favour of plants, putting it in the vanguard of major retailers in Europe combining the health, climate, animal welfare and business benefits of the protein transition. 

Two things are clear - there must be more focus on food systems and the protein transition when it comes to tackling the climate crisis and that focus must include more funding.