ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TO ADDRESS AND TRANSFORM THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM

🍎 These organizations are treasure troves of information, free resources, reports and learning opportunities. If you want to start somewhere, I recommend checking out World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Healthcare without Harm, and Heal Food Alliance.

You may find more ideas on this page:

  • 50by40 seeks to cut the global production and consumption of animal products by 50% by the year 2040
  • Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation is a think tank that seeks to determine the effects of economic, social, environmental and scientific factors on food
    • The Food Sustainability Index was created by the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation. It uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to rank 67 countries on the sustainability of their food systems
  • Center for Biological Diversity uses legal action, creative media and grassroots activism to protect endangered species and preserve the critical natural diversity of the environment
  • The Conscious Food Systems Alliance is a movement of food, agriculture, and consciousness practitioners united around a common goal: to support people from across food and agriculture systems to cultivate the inner capacities that activate systemic change and regeneration.
  • Datassential Plant-Forward Opportunity report, in partnership with The Culinary Institute of America, Food for Climate League, and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative
    • 2022 Plant-Forward Opportunity takes the pulse of consumers on the topic of plant-forward eating through the exploration of sentiments and behaviors concerning plant-based foods, plant-forward menus, sustainability, health, and more.
  • EAT-Lancet Commission on Food Planet and Health is a collaboration between 37 of the world’s leading scientists to answer this question: can we feed a future population of 10 billion within the boundaries of our planet?
  • Farm to Fork Strategy of the European Commission  ( Part of the European Green Deal -striving to be the first climate-neutral continent)
    • There is an urgent need to reduce dependency on pesticides and antimicrobials, reduce excess fertilisation, increase organic farming, improve animal welfare, and reverse biodiversity loss.
    • Putting our food systems on a sustainable path also brings new opportunities for operators in the food value chain. New technologies and scientific discoveries, combined with increasing public awareness and demand for sustainable food, will benefit all stakeholders.
  • Food Tank educates and advocates for sustainable ways to fight against hunger, obesity and poverty and create sustainable change within our food system
  • Food and Agriculture Organization: part of the United Nations, the FAO leads international efforts to achieve food security for all people
  • Friends of the Earth is a grassroots environmental network that aims to defend the environment and create a healthy, just world through sustainability, connectivity and systemic change
  • Global Alliance for the Future of Food is an alliance of philanthropic organizations working together to transform global food systems to create a more sustainable future for coming generations
  • Good Food Purchasing Program works with public institutions to create transparency in the supply chain from farm to fork and support small to mid-sized agriculture in local areas
  • Heal Food Alliance: By working together, we can build a system that is healthy for our families, accessible and affordable for all communities, and fair to the people who grow, distribute, prepare, and serve our food. To transform our food system is to heal our bodies, transform our economy, and protect our environment.
  • Healthcare without Harm, an organization that  works to transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice.
    • The Plant-Forward Future   a curated set of resources from Practice Greenhealth, Health Care Without Harm, and our partners that will help health care facilities set a plant-forward goal, menu and market plant-forward dishes, and track their progress.
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a subgroup of the United Nations that assesses climate-related science
    • Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems.
  • Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future works with students, educators, researchers, policymaker and advocacy groups to build a healthy, equitable and resilient food system
    • The Connections between Diet, People and Planet article discuses how human health, environment and climate change can be addressed at the table
    • Food System Primer is “designed for educators, students, journalists, policymakers, researchers, and other engaged citizens seeking information and resources about the food system.”
  • Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health blogs about sustainability, health and nutrition topics
  • Meatless Monday: part of the Monday Campaigns, Meatless Mondays is a campaign that advocates for avoiding meat on Mondays
  • Natural Resources Defense Council aims to safeguard the natural systems on Earth on which all life depends. It strives to restore the integrity of the environment and defend endangered natural places
  • One Health seeks to optimize health outcomes by recognizing the interconnectedness between humans and the health of animals and our shared environment
  • Rockefeller Foundation (Food Division) aims to increase access and availability of nutrition food to improve the dietary quality of at least 40 million vulnerable children and families around the world in the next three years
  • Stanford University Dining: One Plate, One Planet is a long-term action plan to alleviate the affects of food waste. By engaging students in a full array of strategies from reducing food-related GHG emissions, composting for animal feed, recycling, food donations, waste to oil biodiesel, and energy and water conservation, they aim to build a culture of environmentally sustainable habits for the future of the planet.
  • Our World in Data: a research platform highlighting global problems and global changes.
  • Project Drawdown:  a nonprofit organization with a mission to help the world reach “drawdown”— “the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.” 
  • UN Environment Programme is a global champion for the environment with focus on climate, nature, pollution, and sustainable development.
  • World Economic Forum, an international organization engaging political, business, and culture leaders to influence positive change and meet global, regional, and industry agendas.
  • The World Resources Institute is a research organization working with professionals in over 60 countries to achieve sustainable solutions in seven topic areas: climate, energy, food, forests, water, cities and the ocean
    • WRI works with restaurants, universities, hospitals and more to create dining environments that enable consumers to choose climate-friendly foods. Using cutting-edge learnings from behavioral science, WRI works with the food service sector to make changes within their operations that encourage diners to choose more sustainable, plant-rich options.
    • Cool Food helps organizations reduce the climate impact of the food they serve by shifting towards more plant-rich foods. It is a credible and proven way to reduce your organization’s greenhouse gas emissions.
    • Tracking Progress towards the Cool Food Pledge: Setting Climate Targets, Tracking Metrics, Using the Cool Food Calculator, and Related Guidance for Pledge Signatories;
      • The Cool Food Pledge is a global initiative that helps food providers sell delicious dishes with smaller climate footprints
      • A number of potential solutions exist, including improving the productivity and environmental performance of agriculture (including crops, livestock, fisheries, and  aquaculture), reducing food loss and waste across supply chains, and shifting high meat diets toward plant-based foods.
    • Playbook for Guiding Diners Toward Plant-Rich Dishes in Food Service
      • To help food service companies support diners in choosing more plant-rich meals, this playbook from WRI’s Better Buying Lab outlines the top 23 ‘behavior change’ strategies drawing on cutting edge academic research into how people choose food, as well as insights from experts in the food service industry about what works and what doesn’t.
      • Producing beef emits 20 times more greenhouse gases than common plant-based proteins, which is why shifting diets toward containing less beef, and more plants, is an important climate action. T
    • Creating a Sustainable Food Future – A Menu of Solutions to Feed Nearly 10 Billion People by 2050 (2019) 
      • The report offers a five-course menu of solutions to ensure we can feed 10 billion people by 2050 without increasing emissions, fueling deforestation or exacerbating poverty. Intensive research and modeling examining the nexus of the food system, economic development, and the environment show why each of the 22 items on the menu is important and quantifies how far each solution can get us. 
      •  Today, hundreds of millions of people remain hungry, agriculture already uses almost half of the world’s vegetated land, and agriculture and related land-use change generate one-quarter of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
  • World Health Organization: “Our Planet, Our Health, Our Future”  This report discusses Biodiversity, climate change and desertification, three interlinked issues relevant to human health.
  • World Health Organization: “Sustainable healthy diets: guiding principles”.  This report of  guiding principles takes a holistic approach to diets; they consider international nutrition recommendations; the environmental cost of food production and consumption; and the adaptability to local social, cultural and economic contexts.
  • World Wildlife Fund (Food Initiatives) works to secure a living planet that will sustain a more affluent population. From refining production and distribution to combating waste and environmental impacts, we want to improve how the world grows, transports and consumes this precious fuel.
    • World Wildlife Fund: Living Planet Report 2020 This is a terrific summary of a report on how the destruction of nature is having catastrophic impacts not only on wildlife populations but also on human health and all aspects of our lives.
    • World Wildlife Fund: A Consensus on Food, Farming, and Nature
      • A healthy natural environment underpins food security.
      • Farming does not just produce the food we eat but is also central to efforts to tackle the nature, climate, and public health crises.
      • Diversity – in nature, in farming systems and amongst those involved in farming – along with diversity in farm animals and crops, will enable resilience and innovation in the face of climate change and economic challenges.
  • * Front Groups below:  appear to be independent, but are in fact made up of industry or PR professionals from the industrial food and agriculture sector to promote their messages with consumers and the media; They are manipulating public discourse in order to defuse public concern about the real risks of chemical-intensive industrial agriculture and undermine public awareness of the benefits of organic food and diversified, ecological production systems.

 

Additional Resources to Explore

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