“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.
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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.
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Explore four strategies to reduce the climate impact of our food system. Join Jonathan Foley to learn how to feed the world sustainably and fight climate change.
In 2022, I gave a presentation about climate change solutions to the Canadian Parliament. During that meeting, I had the opportunity to hear a presentation from a beef producers group about how they intended to rely on a new synthetic methane inhibitor (not approved in Canada at the time) as the heart of efforts to curb their greenhouse gas emissions.
It surprises many people to learn that the food we eat, the farms that grow it, and the landscapes we’ve cleared all contribute to climate change. And contribute in a big way.
Unfortunately, policymakers, business leaders, investors, and philanthropists often overlook this critical aspect of climate change. Moving forward, we must carefully weigh the food system’s impact on climate and develop a robust portfolio of solutions to address it.
Ted Otte is a strategist and operator focused on accelerating the adoption of climate solutions in the private sector. As senior manager of Drawdown Labs, Ted brings hands-on industry knowledge to the task of scaling the Drawdown Labs Business Coalition. Before joining Project Drawdown, Ted led partnerships and program management for Twitter’s in-house creative services team.
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