Green America recognizes ‘SuperHeroes’ saving our soils to fight climate change
Image credit: Anheuser-Busch
Dozens of farmers and food companies — including
Anheuser-Busch,
Danone North America and
MegaFood; along with no-till farmer Rick
Clark
(in partnership with Danone) and Farming While
Black author and activist Leah Penniman
— are being recognized by national nonprofit Green America in honor of
World Food Day.
Green America says these "Soil
SuperHeroes" are working to
provide major solutions to the climate crisis by employing regenerative soil
stewardship
practices
that build soil health and resiliency. These farmers and forward-thinking food
companies are assessing the impacts of agriculture and implementing best
practices to protect soil and human health.
“We need to immediately address the climate crisis we are facing, and these
farmers and food companies are doing just that by regenerating our soils for the
betterment of our bodies and planet and they should be celebrated,” says
Jillian Semaan, Food Campaigns Director at Green America.
Soil
SuperHeroes are
farmers and food companies that are committed to saving our soils and mitigating
the climate crisis through a variety of regenerative practices, including:
-
Anheuser-Busch: Its
Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold is the first national beer brand in the US to
be certified organic. Anheuser-Busch is helping farmers through the
three-year transition period to
organic
by providing long-term contracts and paying premium prices for transitional
and organic crops.
-
Rick Clark and Danone North
America: In 2016, Danone North America announced it would transition their
products to non-GMO
verified,
knowing that it had to rely on farmers to provide the non-GMO feed for the
cows that produce milk for its yogurt. One of those farmers is Indiana
farmer and Soil SuperHero Rick Clark, who offers practical examples for how
soil health can transform agriculture.
-
MegaFood: One of the only
farm-to-table natural vitamin companies that has a direct relationship with
its farmers, MegaFood supports its organic and regenerative farmers and
provides a guaranteed market for their regeneratively grown produce.
-
Leah
Penniman of Soul
Fire Farm: Leah has cultivated five acres of
land using organic and ancestral practices that increase topsoil depth,
sequester carbon and improve soil biodiversity, all while fighting the
injustices of our food system.
Soil SuperHeroes are following the best practices to shift agriculture from a
major cause of climate change to a solution to the climate
crisis
by building soils to be resilient. Healthy soil is a building block for
everything that happens on Earth — from shaping our ecosystems, to mitigating
the effects of climate change, to producing 99 percent of the food that we all
eat.
“As our soil, food and climate changes for the worse overall, it’s vital that we
celebrate those leading the charge towards a more sustainable and delicious
future,” Jessica Hulse Dillon, Director of the Regenerative Supply Working
Group at Green America’s Center for Sustainability Solutions. “Please join us in
celebrating and supporting the farmers and forward-thinking companies that are
working to save our soils and our planet.”
UN World Food Programme launches new campaign to help fight food waste
Image credit: UN World Food Programme/YouTube
Meanwhile, chances are, you’ve got some forgotten foodstuff festering at the back of our
fridge. But often, these seemingly spoiled items can be rescued and included in
a tasty dish. That is why the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
today launched Stop the Waste, a
global campaign to raise awareness about the huge amounts of edible food that is
discarded daily — a habit that must be overcome if we are to make real progress
in eradicating global hunger. The campaign includes an animated video, which
aims to spotlight food waste and highlight simple solutions we can take to
prevent it by educating people on how to get involved.
While there is enough food in the world to feed everyone,
one-third
of the 4 billion metric tons of food we produce each year is lost or wasted,
costing the global economy nearly US$1 trillion annually. At the same time, war
and unrest are forcing more people to flee their homes than at any time since
the Second World War, making it difficult for millions of people to grow their
own food or buy it at an affordable price.
A recent WRI
report
confirmed that halving the rate of food loss and waste is an important strategy
that would contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, meeting
the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and sustainably feeding the
planet by 2050. To help achieve a world with zero hunger, WFP helps prevent food
loss by helping smallholder farmers through the provision of new technologies
for storage and transportation that prevent crops from spoiling prematurely, and
by connecting them with markets.
“#StopTheWaste is a campaign that appeals to everyone along the chain from farm
to fork,” said Corinne Woods, Chief Marketing Officer for the WFP. "Food
waste is a global issue but everyone can play their part in building a
sustainable solution. Whether you are a farmer in Nigeria, losing your crops
after harvest; or a restaurant diner in New York, wasting the leftovers from
your meal, you really can help to #StoptheWaste.”
As part of the campaign, WFP has enlisted top restaurateurs and celebrity chefs
from around the globe to join the movement by making their own pledge to
#StopTheWaste. In the US, award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern has joined the
movement by creating his own
recipe using food
that would normally go to waste and has pledged #StopTheWaste in hopes of
inspiring his followers to do the same.
“Feeding those in need requires a dozen different action steps as part of a
multi-pronged solution to reduce, and hopefully eliminate food waste,” said
Zimmern, a four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and
teacher. “This is a global problem at every level: from the farm to the
wholesaler to the grocery store to your house and we can all do our part to
help. Taking simple steps at home to reduce food waste is good for your wallet
and the environment, and supporting organizations that rescue perfectly good
landfill-bound produce is vital for feeding those in need.”
Join the campaign:
-
Search your fridge or pantry for a food item that is nearing its expiration
date and safe to eat
-
Snap a selfie with your item (do not forget to eat it)
-
Share your photo on social using #StopTheWaste and challenge three friends
by tagging them in your post
-
Take your pledge one step further by sharing your food waste recipes or host
a dinner party and encourage others to do the same.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Oct 16, 2019 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST