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The problem with food and climate – and how to fix it

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Jonathan Foley presenting at TED Countdown June 2024

The global food system takes up 38% of Earth’s land surface and is responsible for one-third of all greenhouse gases generated by humans. Can we feed people without destroying the planet?

Yes, says Project Drawdown executive director Jonathan Foley. 

In this compelling TED Countdown Dilemma Series presentation, Foley shares four key strategies for reducing the food system’s climate impact: boost efficiency by cutting food waste and changing diets, protect ecosystems, improve farming methods, and improve the rest of the food system. Along with efforts to restore natural ecosystems and enhance agriculture’s ability to sequester carbon, these approaches can make it possible to alleviate hunger and halt climate change at the same time.

“While the food and climate crisis is an enormous challenge, of course, I also see it as an incredible opportunity,” Foley tells the TED audience. “And that opportunity is to build an entirely better food system. We could have a food system that truly nourishes the world. ... We could have a food system that reduces pressure on nature and even helps restore some of it. And we could have a food system that actually stops climate change.

“And what’s so beautiful today is this is already possible,” he says. “None of this requires new technology. It requires us to change. That’s it. We just need to choose it.”

Learn more and share Foley’s TED Talk with others who might benefit from his important message.