In 2023, governments started prioritising food system changes as a key strategy in addressing climate change. Food Frontier executive director Dr Simon Eassom said the strategies needed to be part of any attempt to develop climate change solutions, with further support for alternative proteins required from government and industry to slow the rate of global warming.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food systems account for one third of greenhouse gas emissions. About 14.5 per cent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are from livestock, 44 per cent of livestock emissions are in the form of methane.
Eassom said 2023 had seen real steps in this direction with some countries acting on the connections between what we eat and climate change.
“South Korea, Denmark, Germany, and Canada have all introduced programs to encourage plant-based meats. In one particular German state, for example, incentives have been introduced to farmers to support the transition away from pig farming as the country seeks to diversify its agriculture sector and become more sustainable.
“Two Dutch municipalities have restricted meat and dairy advertising in public spaces as measures to try to shift behaviour, driven by concerns about the impact some of their more dominant agricultural industries are having on the local environment and climate change,” said Eassom.
Other countries have opted to work toward providing value-add opportunities, such as Canada, which has invested heavily in its pulse industries with the goal of becoming a US $25 billion plant-based powerhouse by 2035.
This awareness surrounding commitment to sustainable practices moved to a global stage at COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, where two-thirds of the menu was vegetarian or vegan—reflecting the increasing recognition of the interconnectedness between food choices and climate change.
The conference also dedicated sessions to sustainable food technology solutions, including alternative proteins.
More than 80 organisations and individuals worldwide, including IKEA and Unilever signed an open letter to COP28 organisers emphasising the need to integrate a food systems approach into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP28.
“Looking forward to 2024, it’s vital for Australia to step up and drive change as well. Our current systems of generating protein are not sustainable and we must look to diversify food supply and the requirement for protein in particular.
“As the demand for meat increases along with population growth, we must address the prospect of any negative impacts increasing along the same trajectory,” said Eassom.
