Here's Our Food System Roadmap, Part II

Danielle Nierenberg

Danielle Nierenberg

At major events like Climate Week NYC, we do a lot of talking. Over the course of the week, hundreds of experts and inspiring changemakers cross our stage. I almost always have a water bottle with me when I’m moderating these discussions, because my voice gets tired!

But we can’t just talk about addressing the climate crisis. We have to do something. There’s a reason phrases like “actions speak louder than words” and “leading by example” are repeated so often: They’re 100 percent true. 

The discussions we’re having—from Climate Week NYC next week to COP31 later this year and beyond—are most valuable when each of us takes what we’re hearing and learning and translates these into on-the-ground solutions. In this newsletter last week and this week, we’re highlighting 13 (a baker’s dozen!) of the many steps that are already being taken across the global food system. 

Find out more about our amazing lineup for Climate Week NYC—featuring more than 225 speakers and performers from September 20 to 25—by CLICKING HERE. And all 13 of our Summits are being livestreamed, so you can tune in from wherever you live!

Here’s this week’s crop of seven solutions:

Telling people-centered food stories

I’ve said before that storytelling can change the world, and that’s no exaggeration! Films and documentaries—and other forms of media, from books to podcasts to articles—can bring viewers to the front lines of food system action, forge powerful personal connections to complex topics, and elevate success stories that can then be shared and replicated for even broader impacts.

“There is a love story in every practice of agriculture, and as we face an increasingly mechanized world, stories coming from the heart are the path towards a more sustainable, prosperous, and empathetic future,” says Haven Worley, the director of “Irish Farmers: A Love Story,” Food Tank’s debut documentary short.

Teaching optimism to future food leaders

Over many decades as one of the country’s top food policy experts, professor and nutritionist Marion Nestle—who celebrated her 90th birthday last week!—has guided generations of eaters, students, and policymakers toward a deeper understanding of the food system. One of the countless lessons I’ve learned from Marion is that true mentorship is not just about navigating the world as it is today; it’s about seeing the world as it could be and developing the tools to make that into reality. 

“I deeply believe that setting goals—even those that seem highly unattainable—is a useful public health strategy,” Marion wrote in a 90th birthday reflection blog post. “Unrealistic goals can educate, expand expectations, promote critical thinking, motivate action, attract resources, and encourage accountability.”

Integrating food into the school day beyond the cafeteria

Organizations from Pilot Light to Wellness in the Schools are redefining food education, ensuring that children from a young age are thinking critically about where food comes from, developing tools to fuel their bodies and minds, and reflecting on how they can be agents of change to drive climate action.

“Incredible work is already happening in food education, but the question now is how we build on it so every student has the opportunity to learn about food,” says Alex DeSorbo-Quinn, Executive Director of Pilot Light.

Making better consumer choices feel achievable

Food Tankers know how impactful our food choices are: What we eat matters not just for our individual bodies but for the entire food system, too. But educating consumers—and getting folks to actually change their behavior—is easier said than done, which is why any accessible resource goes a long way. For example, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch provides well-researched recommendations that encompass some ¾ of U.S. market seafood and half of global seafood, plus restaurants and major companies committed to sustainable blue food systems.

“I think it really is important to know that the choices we make do matter at the grocery store. They do mean something,” says Wendy Norden, Director of Science and Global Strategies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “And they help us do our work and improve, because we want to celebrate seafood.”

Giving chefs a platform as food systems leaders

Here’s an idea: What if our food policy were influenced less by politicians taking donations from major food corporations, and instead shaped by people who know food better than anyone: Chefs! While the Trump-Vance Administration was reshaping the “food pyramid” of dietary guidelines for all Americans, Chef Sean Sherman, a.k.a. The Sioux Chef, had a better idea. He created what he calls the Regional Indigenous Nutritional Guide, or the RING Diet, which helps us eat in ways that match the places we actually live.

“The RING Diet is a living guide, and one you could actually use,” Chef Sherman, the founder of Native American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) writes. “You can use it to learn about your own region, its seasons, its plants and animals and the precious nutrients they offer and how they work within our bodily systems. A tool to teach your kids, to plan a week of eating, to reconnect with the specific foods of the specific place you stand on.”

Working smarter to nourish the future

It’s easy to list off a couple examples of foods that are healthy and a couple that are not. It’s much more difficult to explain why—what specific biomolecules make up our foods and how each one impacts systems in our bodies. This is why I both admire and am awestruck by the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI), which is creating data systems to map out these biomolecules and translate that research into action. 

As PTFI Global Director Selena Ahmed and other experts write in a joint Op-Ed, “We cannot fix what we do not measure. … Without knowing what’s actually in our food, the tens of thousands of molecules, we cannot design food systems that sustain health.”

Embedding resilience into entire supply chains

We typically think of certifications like organic in the context of individual farms or food producers—but what about entire supply chains? Take a new carbon insetting program in the organic dairy industry, for example: Collaboration across the supply chain is creating a model for private-sector companies like Organic Valley, UNFI, and Whole Foods Market to work together to reduce emissions and build resilience. This is a step toward the kind of big-picture thinking we need to see across the entire food system!

“When we collaborate across the value chain, we unlock new ways to reduce emissions, meet climate goals, and support the people at the heart of it all—our farmers,” says Jessica Luhning, Organic Valley’s Senior Sustainability Manager.

How are you seeing these and other food-system solutions being put into action in your communities? Share even more success stories with me at danielle@foodtank.com!

(Danielle Nierenberg is the President of Food Tank and can be reached at danielle@foodtank.com)