Our food system is cooking the climate. From industrial meat consumption to excessive food waste to lack of access to healthy fruits and vegetables — our broken food system is not working for us. As more of Canada’s population moves into cities and towns, we have a clear opportunity for action. We can move our cities to take a big bite out of climate-related greenhouse gas emissions by transforming the way food is produced and accessed in our cities and towns.
Our global food system accounts for as much as 37% of greenhouse gas emissions [1]. Overconsumption of industrially farmed meat, excessive food loss and waste and lack of access to local fruits and veggies is causing deforestation, biodiversity loss and contributing to global climate change. As our climate heats up, reliance on a globalized, industrialized food system will become increasingly unsustainable and we risk widespread food insecurity.
By 2050, it is estimated that 80% of all food will be consumed in cities [2]. If we want food security in the face of a changing climate, we need to act now to transform our towns and cities, putting access to healthy, climate-friendly diets at the heart of our food policies.
We have the power to change our local food systems. This new years, take the #GoodFoodChallenge with us and commit to eating for the climate. This means reducing your reliance on meat consumption and opting instead for plant-based proteins. It means reducing the amount of food you throw away. And it means selecting local fruits and veggies where possible. These choices make up the ingredients of a climate-friendly diet.
But it doesn’t stop with you. Mid-January we’ll ask you how it’s going with the challenge. We want to hear from YOU what makes it hard to choose climate-friendly foods. Together, we’ll serve your feedback to city mayors across Canada asking them to hold up their end of the #GoodFoodChallenge by committing to put good food policies on the table in 2020.
Sign up for the 2020 #GoodFoodChallenge and we’ll send you our Eco Menu: 10 tips for how to make climate friendly food choices.
Let us know how your 2020 #GoodFoodChallenge is going! Knowing that our broken food system is not designed for climate-friendly eating, we want to hear from you what’s been working and what hasn’t.
We can’t eat for the climate if good food choices are not available to us. So here’s the fun part: ask your mayor to step up to the plate and put good food policies on the table this year.
Sign up for the 2020 #GoodFoodChallenge and we’ll send you our Eco Menu: 10 tips for how to make climate friendly food choices.
Let us know how your 2020 #GoodFoodChallenge is going! Knowing that our broken food system is not designed for climate-friendly eating, we want to hear from you what’s been working and what hasn’t.
We can’t eat for the climate if good food choices are not available to us. So here’s the fun part: ask your mayor to step up to the plate and put good food policies on the table this year.
Visit the #GoodFoodChallenge on Pinterest to find delicious plant-based recipe ideas, tips for reducing food waste, inspiration for cooking root-to-stem and more! Let’s get cooking for the climate together.
