Turning Hope Into Action for a Better Food System

A new year brings hope for what lies ahead. But hope doesn’t create change on its own. We must collectively take action to create food policy and menus that better protect our environment.

Globally, food production accounts for as much as 37% of climate emissions. In the United States, beef alone is responsible for one-third of food emissions. But food policy doesn’t adequately address climate change. For example, the recent global climate conference, COP26, was attended by stakeholders from around the world who were desperate for real policy change. It was great to see the conference offer its 30,000 participants a menu with less meat, but its policy agenda didn’t tackle animal agriculture or meat reduction in any meaningful way.

We’re seeing hopeful signs, with restaurants and businesses updating menus by incorporating more legumes and low-carbon options. From catering choices to municipal procurement to the 30 million children who rely on government-funded school meal programs every day, menus play a key role in food choices and cultural values.

But menu changes must be matched with climate-driven food policy. Without it, many places like schools, hospitals, military bases and social meal programs can’t afford to change what they buy and serve.

In the United States, people consume meat — the leading source of agriculturally driven biodiversity harms and climate emissions — at three times the global average rate. Yet when it comes to sustainable food policy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture isn’t leading with policy solutions. Secretary Tom Vilsack (who headed up Obama’s USDA, then became a dairy industry lobbyist, and is now back regulating industry under Biden) refuses to incorporate meaningful sustainability initiatives in U.S. food policy or the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. At COP26, Vilsack claimed that the United States didn’t need to reduce meat and dairy production. Instead he recommended voluntary benchmarks, though there’s little reason to believe these would have any impact on industry practices.

Despite this track record, there's some reason for optimism because it’s clear which steps are needed. The Biden administration must acknowledge that meat and dairy are part of the problem and reject false solutions like voluntary benchmarks that hold no one accountable or rely on creative methane accounting. The USDA must put sustainability ahead of corporate profits by aligning food policy with climate policy. And the USDA must shift funding from environmentally harmful agribusiness and build a just transition to climate-resilient agriculture that promotes biodiversity. This can boost regional food systems, shorten supply chains, increase access to healthy food, and promote reparative justice and restorative rewilding of conservation lands. Read more of our recommendations in our policy guide, “Appetite for Change.”

Back in 2014, when the Center started our Take Extinction Off Your Plate campaign, it empowered individuals to make more Earth-friendly food choices. But that was just one part of the Center’s food work that distinguished us from other environmental organizations. I joined the Center soon after because it was the key organization calling out the ways food production harms the planet — specifically, the way meat and dairy harm wildlife. Our work continues to evolve — and I’m excited to share that we’re hiring a new policy position on our food team to strengthen our work.

A just food system is possible. But we must change what we grow and how we grow it. Food should nourish the relationship between humans and the natural world. Everything we do in our work aims to transform this hopeful vision into reality.

Until next month, stay in touch by writing me at EarthFriendlyDiet@BiologicalDiversity.org.

For the wild,

Jennifer Molidor, Senior Food Campaigner

Population and Sustainability Program

Center for Biological Diversity

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