A plan for more sustainable food
10/01/24 • 41 min
Global food production is a key driver behind both climate change and the loss of species and ecosystems. In fact, it’s responsible for roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and over two-thirds of global habitat and biodiversity losses. That’s because unsustainable food production too often leads to the destruction of forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems in order to produce more food. So how do we create a more sustainable food system? Joining the show today is Dr. Jason Clay, Executive Director of WWF’s Markets Institute. Jason has decades of experience working with companies to find innovative ways to make their supply chains more sustainable, and today he’ll be explaining his latest initiative: Codex Planetarius. In short, Codex Planetarius aims to establish global environmental standards to limit the harm caused by the production of globally traded food. The idea draws inspiration from Codex Alimentarius, the international code of health and safety standards for food established in the mid-20th century. It makes sense: If the world can adopt standards to protect human health and safety, why can't we do the same for the health and safety of the planet? In this interview, Jason explains how his career journey evolved from human rights to conservation (with help from the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerry’s along the way), and how Codex Planetarius could establish new global norms for food production that help us feed the world without destroying it.
Links for More Info:
Jason Clay bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/jason-clay
Codex Planetarius homepage: https://codexplanetarius.org/
WEB STORY: Codex Planetarius: Increasing Global Food Sustainability and Resilience: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/codex-planetarius-increasing-global-food-sustainability-and-resilience
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:21 Intro
2:09 Jason’s childhood
4:13 Saving the rain forest with the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerry’s
8:08 Tracy Chapman story
9:13 How the global food system works
12:06 Sustainable vs. unsustainable food production
15:16 Codex Planetarius basics
17:56 Growth of the global food trade
21:05 Limits of voluntary standards
24:08 How to pay for Codex Planetarius
28:59 How to implement Codex Planetarius
35:58 Addressing cost concerns
38:49 What comes next?
40:51 Outro
Global food production is a key driver behind both climate change and the loss of species and ecosystems. In fact, it’s responsible for roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and over two-thirds of global habitat and biodiversity losses. That’s because unsustainable food production too often leads to the destruction of forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems in order to produce more food. So how do we create a more sustainable food system? Joining the show today is Dr. Jason Clay, Executive Director of WWF’s Markets Institute. Jason has decades of experience working with companies to find innovative ways to make their supply chains more sustainable, and today he’ll be explaining his latest initiative: Codex Planetarius. In short, Codex Planetarius aims to establish global environmental standards to limit the harm caused by the production of globally traded food. The idea draws inspiration from Codex Alimentarius, the international code of health and safety standards for food established in the mid-20th century. It makes sense: If the world can adopt standards to protect human health and safety, why can't we do the same for the health and safety of the planet? In this interview, Jason explains how his career journey evolved from human rights to conservation (with help from the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerry’s along the way), and how Codex Planetarius could establish new global norms for food production that help us feed the world without destroying it.
Links for More Info:
Jason Clay bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/jason-clay
Codex Planetarius homepage: https://codexplanetarius.org/
WEB STORY: Codex Planetarius: Increasing Global Food Sustainability and Resilience: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/codex-planetarius-increasing-global-food-sustainability-and-resilience
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:21 Intro
2:09 Jason’s childhood
4:13 Saving the rain forest with the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerry’s
8:08 Tracy Chapman story
9:13 How the global food system works
12:06 Sustainable vs. unsustainable food production
15:16 Codex Planetarius basics
17:56 Growth of the global food trade
21:05 Limits of voluntary standards
24:08 How to pay for Codex Planetarius
28:59 How to implement Codex Planetarius
35:58 Addressing cost concerns
38:49 What comes next?
40:51 Outro
Previous Episode
Why We Should Care About The Amazon Rain Forest (2023)
Note: This interview was originally published on September 5, 2023. It's being re-released with a new intro for Amazon Day 2024. To our new subscribers: thanks and welcome!
September 5 is World Amazon Day, and we’re celebrating with an episode about the many things that make the Amazon rain forest so special. For example, did you know that the Amazon is the largest rain forest in the world? It covers an area nearly the size of the entire continental United States, and it’s home to about one in 10 known species on Earth. It also helps stabilize the local and global climate. But it also faces challenges from deforestation, climate change, and more. In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Meg Symington, WWF’s vice president for the Amazon. Meg talks about how she first fell in love with the rain forest (3:11), why the Amazon matters so much to both local communities and the world at large (4:59), the many threats it faces (7:40), and what solutions are needed to keep it intact for future generations (14:08). Later, for our Supporters Sound Off segment, you’ll hear from Marianne Spindel, a WWF Hero from Florida, about what inspires her passion for nature (25:40).
Links for More Info:
Next Episode
Living Planet Report reveals catastrophic wildlife decline
In today’s special bonus episode of Nature Breaking you’ll hear all about WWF’s 2024 Living Planet Report. This bi-annual report functions as a check-up on the health of the Earth. Underpinning the report is the Living Planet Index, which monitors populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish around the world. This year the report found that monitored wildlife populations declined by an average of 73% since 1970. Importantly, this year’s report also reveals that the Earth stands on the verge of tipping points for tropical forests and coral reefs that could have severe consequences for people and nature everywhere.
Joining the show to explain the Living Planet Report is Dr. Rebecca Shaw, WWF’s chief scientist. Rebecca will walk us through the methodology of the report, what its key findings really mean for wildlife and ecosystems, and what we all can do together to put our planet on a more sustainable pathway.
Links for More Info:
Rebecca Shaw bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/rebecca-shaw
2024 Living Planet Report: worldwildlife.org/livingplanetreport
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:23 Intro
2:09 LPR basics & key findings
4:42 Reasons for wildlife decline
5:51 Why should we care?
7:55 Tipping points explainer
10:21 Amazon rain forest tipping point
12:22 Rebecca’s story about living in the Amazon
13:49 Amazon tipping point continued
14:54 LPR species example: parrotfish
18:09 History of the LPR
20:56 How to reverse the loss of wildlife and nature
28:12 Message to leaders at CBD COP16
32:58 Outro
Nature Breaking - A plan for more sustainable food
Transcript
I think we're at a point in time, if 30 percent of, of global food is being traded, we need a mechanism that countries cannot, not necessarily subsidize production in other parts of the world, but can ensure production to be more sustainable at the minimum, but also more resilient, uh, in the face of climate change. Welcome to Nature Breaking, a World Wildlife Fund podcast focused on news and trends affecting our natural world and the people and species who call it ho
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