{"id":67128,"date":"2019-06-17T16:47:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T20:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=67128"},"modified":"2019-06-18T10:19:09","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T14:19:09","slug":"actnow-food-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2019\/06\/actnow-food-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling climate change, one bite at a time, UN enlists chefs to lead in campaign for sustainable food"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chefs from around the world will help the United Nations kick-off a new campaign on 18 June \u2013 Sustainable Gastronomy Day<\/a> \u2013 that aims to engage people in the global effort to tackle climate change through healthy and sustainable food choices. To join the global movement, submit your sustainable food tips and recipes on social media using the hashtag #ActNow.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Leading chefs will spearhead the challenge and provide inspiration by presenting their own creations which will be featured on the United Nations\u2019 platforms to create a global wave of culinary creativity as people share their favorite recipes and photos.<\/p>\n

The UN\u2019s ActNow campaign<\/a> aims to generate momentum towards the Secretary-General\u2019s Climate Action Summit<\/a> on 23 September 2019, where leaders from governments, business and civil society will demonstrate large-scale plans to significantly reduce emissions and build climate resilience and adaptation.<\/p>\n

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“Through the ActNow Campaign, we aim to bring all people into the collective effort to limit climate change and build a sustainable world.\u201d UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt is clear that since 2015, progress has been made across a number of the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change have inspired an impressive early response from Governments, the private sector, local authorities, civil society, the scientific community and many more.\u00a0 But it is also clear that we must move much further and much faster to achieve our Goals by 2030\u2019\u201d said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed. \u201cWe can achieve the SDGs by 2030. \u00a0We can win the race against climate change.\u00a0 But individuals have a big role to play, and through the ActNow Campaign, we aim to bring all people into the collective effort to limit climate change and build a sustainable world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining the campaign is the Copenhagen-based non-profit MAD, founded by Chef Ren\u00e9 Redzepi of world-renowned restaurant noma<\/em>, working to transform our food system by giving chefs and restaurateurs the skills, community, time and space to create real and sustainable change. Alongside MAD, will be the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, and Kitchen Connection, which are working to engage chefs in the sustainable food movement.<\/p>\n

Food \u2013 a key to curbing climate change\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h3>\n

With agriculture contributing to about one-fifth of global emissions, largely through food waste and meat consumption, the UN\u2019s ActNow campaign will showcase the efforts and recipes of renowned chefs who are cooking with ingredients that can help reduce greenhouse gases and damage to the environment.<\/p>\n

Food consumption is impacting the climate in many ways. The destruction of rainforests to create land for agriculture, along with growing demand for meat, are major contributors to increasing greenhouse gases. And one-third of the food that is produced in the world each year \u2013 approximately 1.3 billion tonnes at an economic cost of $940 billion to farmers, companies, and consumers \u2013 is lost or wasted, according to the UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization. Wasted food is responsible for roughly 8 per cent of global emissions \u2013 if food waste were a country, it would have the third largest emissions in the world.<\/p>\n

As more and more chefs and other food suppliers are focusing on local and organic produce and shifting away from meat-heavy meals and fast food, the UN\u2019s ActNow campaign aims to inspire even more people to enjoy sustainable, climate-conscious and delicious food.<\/p>\n

Melina Shannon-DiPietro, Executive Director of MAD,\u00a0says: \u201cAt MAD, and in speaking with chefs from around the globe, I\u2019m reminded over and over again that the restaurant world is driven by a sense of creativity, care, and hospitality. Their commitment to the environment is driven by that same values, and the UN\u2019s ActNow campaign gives our restaurant community the opportunity to share their best practices and most creative discoveries with one another and the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll ingredients are blessings from nature \u2013 vegetables, fruits, seafood \u2013 these are all affected by climate change,\u201d said Chef Katsuhiro Nakamura<\/a>, FAO National Goodwill Ambassador for Japan. \u201cThat is a huge loss for us. We have to preserve nature. Disgracing nature ties in with climate change, and ultimately, affects what we eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Climate change is affecting some of the essential ingredients used in the main meal of the day, said Italian celebrity chef Carlo Cracco. “My work with IFAD and farmers in Cambodia and Morocco shows that these family farmers need to adapt to climate change impacts now, and that working with IFAD adaptation to climate change can actually increase food security and income.”<\/p>\n

Food challenge<\/h3>\n

In addition to the chefs, the ActNow campaign is inviting people around the world to make their individual contribution to sustainable food consumption. The challenge is to cook up dishes that are not only delicious but also good for the planet and good for us \u2013 reducing meat and emphasizing diverse vegetarian ingredients instead.<\/p>\n

New York-based Chef Grace Ramirez<\/a> said, \u201cConfronting the climate crisis can feel overwhelming, but the ActNow food challenge offers a simple place to start — your plate. With a few green hacks and tips on how to cook and entertain more sustainably, we can all make decisions that have less harmful effects on the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

ActNow is the United Nations\u2019 global call to individual action on climate change. The campaign is a critical part of the UN\u2019s coordinated effort to raise awareness, ambition, and action for climate change and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n

The campaign began at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2018, when Sir David Attenborough launched the ActNow.bot. Taking advantage of technical innovation, the campaign harnesses advances in Artificial Intelligence to spur behavior change. The ActNow.bot recommends everyday actions to reduce our carbon footprints \u2013 like traveling more sustainably, saving energy or eating less meat.<\/p>\n

Additional information<\/strong> can be found at un.org\/actnow<\/a><\/p>\n

Hashtags<\/strong>: #ActNow #ClimateAction<\/p>\n

For further information<\/strong>, please contact Tolu Olubunmi, ActNow Campaign Manager, UN Department of Global Communications, tolu.olubunmi@un.org<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0+1 240 505 5921<\/p>\n<\/div>

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