Wrapping up Day 5 of CCNow’s ‘Food & Water’ joint coverage week

Our ‘Food & Water’ joint coverage week wraps up today. Our sincerest thanks to all who participated! To close things out, CCNow partners sat down with Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s climate envoy, to discuss climate action following this week’s G7 summit and the burgeoning global food crisis.

Morgan, who formerly headed Greenpeace International, told journalists — from Bloomberg, The Nation, and The Times of India — that wealthy nations did not do enough at the summit to stem climate change or mounting world hunger. She commended commitments by G7 nations to strengthen emissions reductions goals set at COP26 but said, “I think we all know that more action is needed across the board.”

The Nation’s and The Times of India’s stories are available for republication by CCNow partners, with credit to the originating outlet, per CCNow’s content sharing guidelines; copy for those stories is available here.

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

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 yesterday 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: “What can you say about governments that, in the midst of a global food crisis, choose instead to feed machines?” Politicians might cheer ethanol and other biofuels as climate solutions, but their widespread use is just as bad, or even worse than fossil fuels — a fact all the more galling amid spiking hunger worldwide. An op-ed, by George Monbiot.

From Nexus Media News & Sentient Media: We might choose to cut down on meat individually, but to have an impact on the scale needed to fight climate change, experts say a collective effort is in order. Here’s what some US cities are doing to help. By Jenny Splitter.

From Vox: With climate change threatening food systems and agriculture worldwide, governments and NGOs will need to step up to address already-worsening hunger. The norm in international aid for decades has been direct food deliveries, but evidence increasingly shows that giving people cash or vouchers is more effective to stem hunger. By Siobahn McDonough.

REPUBLICATION RECOMMENDATIONS

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

After the G7 summit, Germany’s climate envoy says rich countries are still falling short – By Mark Herstgaard, for The Nation

How cities can help the US reduce food-related emissions – By Jenny Splitter, for Nexus Media News & Sentient Media

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 Angely Mercado, for Nexus Media News

Chili peppers, coffee, wine: How the climate crisis is causing food shortages – By Victoria Namkung, for the Guardian

Food prices are up. A “Bean New Deal” may be the answer. – By Matthew Miles Goodrich, for The Nation

The Field Report: New report says plans to reduce methane fall short on Big Meat and Dairy – By Lisa Held, for Civil Eats

As heat rises, who will protect farm workers? – By Bridget Huber, Nancy Averett & Teresa Cotsirilos, for Food & Environment Reporting Network

‘People need access to fresh food.’ – By Angela Mercado, for Nexus Media News

The Indigenous Food Cafés Transforming Local Cuisine – By Anne Pinto-Rodrigues, for Yes! Magazine

130-year-old menus show how climate change is already affecting what we eat – By Ian Rose, for Hakai Magazine

This super-tree could help feed the world and fight climate change – By Michael Grunwald, for Canary Media

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 & FOOD CULTURE

Today, we’re spotlighting food infrastructure, how we package, transport, and also waste(!) food and water resources. Here are just a few stories that we’ve loved:

• From Bloomberg: “Demand by wealthy countries for year-round fresh fruits and vegetables, plus other agriculture products, is responsible for 46% of ‘food-mile’ emissions even though those nations account for only 12.5% of the global population.” By Todd Woody.
• From Civil Eats: Every day, the US wastes more than 1k calories per person, enough to feed 150 million+ people a year. There’s much talk about “rescuing” wasted food, but the better bet is to stop waste before it starts. By Lisa Held. 
• From PBS NewsHour: If food waste were a country it would be the third largest global carbon emitter after the US and China. “The greenhouse gasses associated with food waste amount to roughly 37 million passenger vehicles on the road,” says one expert. From NewsHour’s excellent 2019 series “Future of Food,” with Megan Thompson.
• From Grist’s “Fix” solutions lab: By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions from plastics are projected to surpass those of coal. The good news? Solutions abound, and they’re better replacements for plastic than you might think. By Claire Elise Thompson.