Wrapping up Day 4 of CCNow’s ‘Food & Water’ joint coverage week

Here's our recap of the fourth day of coverage.

The stories we’ve seen published as part of our ‘Food & Water’ week have been nothing short of inspiring. As always with our joint coverage weeks, though, this is only the beginning. Food and water are outstanding subjects to connect with audiences on climate. To that end here are just a few resources for journalists wanting to pick up the story from here:

Start with this food and water explainer from us, with background information, story ideas, and expert voices. Throughout, we point you to outside resources and datasets from various expert and official organizations.

Next, our partners at Climate Central have generously compiled a slate of resources related to food and water, on subjects from crops to fishing, soil, food & beverages, and more. Each resource bulletin includes information like localized data analysis (at the US national, state, and local levels), infographics, relevant experts available for interviews, the latest scientific research, and reporting resources to support local storytelling.

Finally, Solutions Journalism Network has a great resource specifically focused on food waste, a particularly pernicious feature of our food system that goes a long way to explaining the growing hunger crises worldwide — and something we’ll need to rein in if we hope to curb climate change.

**Stories from CCNow’s newsmaker interview with Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s climate envoy, will be published starting today at 8:30pm US Eastern time. Morgan, who is also the former head of Greenpeace International, spoke with Bloomberg, The Nation, and The Times of India about climate action in the wake of this week’s G7 summit and the burgeoning global food crisis. The Nation’s and The Times of India’s stories are available for republication, pending embargo; copy for those stories is available here.**

Below, find more ‘Food & Water’ coverage from our partners, recommendations for republication, and some great food and climate stories with a special focus on diet & food culture.

Joint week events recap

Twitter Spaces. Throughout the week, journalists across the world shared their experiences covering food and water on the climate beat. Listen to recordings from our Twitter Spaces on justice and farming practices. A Spaces on diet & food culture scheduled for today will be rescheduled for another day and time; keep an eye on our Twitter for updates!

Press briefing: Climate, hunger, and the future of food. On Wednesday, a panel of experts spoke to journalists about climate’s role in the growing food crisis and solutions to help improve our food systems. Here’s a recording and transcript of the briefing.

‘Food & Water’ Talking Shop. Last week, we spoke with journalists from India, Hong Kong, and the US about climate connections to food and water — and why these subjects are great entries to the climate story for audiences. Check out a recording and transcript here.

Today’s highlights

From the Guardian: “Food and the climate crisis are locked in a tangled web of cause and effect.” Here are five aspects of the US food system that are both killing and vulnerable to the climate, from meat to monopolies. By Amanda Schupak.

From the Food & Environment Reporting Network: As temperatures climb, heat illness and death are increasingly common on American farms, but government agencies meant to protect workers have barely doneanything about it. Who will help farm workers, already among the most vulnerable in our society? By Bridget Huber, Nancy Averett & Teresa Cotsirilos.

From Nexus Media News: In 2017, Hurricane Maria showed Puerto Ricans how vulnerable their food system is. Five years on, many have created their own farms, aiming for both “food sovereignty” and climate resilience. By Angely Mercado.

Republication recommendations

The following stories deserve special consideration for republication by CCNow partners:

Meat, monopolies, mega farms: How the US food system fuels climate crisis – By Amanda Schupak, for the Guardian
As heat rises, who will protect farm workers? – Food & Environment Reporting Network
‘People need access to fresh food.’ – By Angela Mercado, for Nexus Media News
Windfall tax on Covid profits could ease ‘catastrophic’ food crisis, says Oxfam – By Fiona Harvey, for the Guardian

For partner outlets: to submit stories for sharing, please use this form. As always, instructions for republishing and the full list of stories available for republication can be found in our Sharing Library.

Focus on diet and food culture

Today, we’re spotlighting diet & food culture, which is where most of us can have the largest personal impact when it comes to food and climate. Here are just a few stories on the subject that we’ve loved:

From the Guardian: Changing how we eat for the climate isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. Even small, consistent changes can go a long way to reduce emissions. By Amanda Schupak.
From Canary Media: Shifting habits isn’t about absolutes, either, and pinning down the “best” way to eat for the climate is tricky, given that every option comes with trade-offs. By Michael Grunwald.
From WNET’s Peril & Promise: Climate change is driving a surge in interest in manufactured chicken and fish — and also high-protein, low-carbon-footprint insects. Frank Sesno hosts.
From Mother Jones: You might not think anything about the gas stove in your kitchen — but the fossil fuel industry certainly has, waging a decades-long campaign to convince Americans gas is superior to electricity. By Rebecca Leber.
From The New Republic: Journalists typically cover food as a lifestyle subject, but climate change and cruel immigration policies are more than good reasons to break from this mold. By Alicia Kennedy
From Green Queen, in Hong Kong: Eating more plants and less meat is among the top things most of us can do for the climate, but many unhelpful myths about plant-heavy diets persist. Sally Ho debunks them.
From NowThis: Americans expend enormous amounts of water on their lawns, which will become only less tenable as climate change intensifies. So, what if we turned our lawns into vegetable gardens? Lucy Biggers investigates.
From WURD, in Philadelphia: Sweet & Savory offers “a flavorful exploration of food marinated in the Black experience, seared with history and braised in culture.” Tonya Hopkins hosts.
BONUS, from Gizmodo: A good food & climate story is never far away, as the Earther team showed last November during COP26, with a look at Glasgow’s best, climate-friendly haggis. By Brian Kahn & Molly Taft.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at food infrastructure.

As a reminder, here’s how you and your news outlet can be involved during the week:

Publish original content on the intersection of food and climate, or publish content made available by another CCNow partner, through our Sharing Library.
- For original stories, please include the following tagline:
  This story is part of Covering Climate Now’s ‘Food & Water’ joint coverage week.
- For stories that are republished from other CCNow partners, this tagline is mandatory:
  This story originally appeared in [name of outlet] and is part of Covering Climate Now’s ‘Food & Water’ joint coverage week.
Amplify food and water stories on social media, tagging us @CoveringClimate and using the hashtag #CCNow.
Join the conversation in our CCNow collaboration-wide Slack space. Share your stories with fellow journalists, brainstorm ideas, and more. (If you haven’t joined already and want to, send an email to editors@coveringclimatenow.org.)