Article by Mike Hoffmann, Carrie Koplinka-Loehr and Danielle Eiseman, authors of the book Our Changing Menu: Climate Change and the Foods We Love and Need (Cornell Press 2021). The book has been one of the shortlisted projects of the CMCC Climate Change Communication Award “Rebecca Ballestra” 2021 and received the Nautilus Gold Book Award for the Rising to the Moment category.
Flavours of wine will be different, chocolate prices will rise, nutritional quality and yields of several crops will decline. Food offers unlimited stories to bring the perception of climate change closer to people, from the challenges facing our favourite foods to a different narration that highlights solutions and the value of science. A climate change and food scientist, a freelance writer, and a once-upon-a-time professional chef have put in place an effective mix of multiple modes of communication that can motivate people to join forces for climate action along the food supply chain.
Our food starts somewhere with a pair of hands driving a tractor in Kansas, picking an apple in England, or pollinating vanilla in Madagascar. The family in Western Africa growing cacao destined for chocolate earns $4.00/day. The sheep rancher at the headwaters of the Colorado River in Wyoming faces droughts that devastate the rangelands he depends on. The lobsterwoman in Maine who now raises oysters because her lobster catches are destined to decline. We depend on the labors of millions of people around the world to grow what we want and move it along the supply chain to our table […]
