Sustain calls for food on the menu at COP26

The Jellied Eel, a project of London Food Link and Sustain, made us aware of an open letter to the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for action to reduce the climate impacts of food and farming. Coordinated by Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, 50 health, environment and farming organisations have written to Prime Minister calling on him to drive action at COP26 on reducing the climate and nature impact of farming and our diets.

On their website, Sustain describe that ‘the letter urges Mr Johnson to acknowledge the critical role of land use and agriculture in the climate crisis, and recognise that more sustainable farming practices can produce good food while tackling climate change and improving nature. 

The signatories are calling for government to reward farmers for transitioning to agroecology, and to uphold high standards when signing new trade deals, whilst advocating for better food and farming policies globally. They also call for public sector food to reflect a healthy and sustainable diet and to buy from more sustainable British farmers’.

Kath Dalmeny, Chief Executive of the Sustain Alliance, said:
‘World leaders have committed to limit global warming and that won’t happen without changing the way food is produced. It is neither fair nor realistic to pass the responsibility on to individual choice. We need bold leadership from Government and businesses to make more climate-friendly and healthy food attractive, accessible and affordable. Farmers need support to farm in a nature friendly way so we can reverse the damage done to our countryside and see wildlife return. The UK’s new trade deals must support tackling climate change and increasing biodiversity– not make the situation worse’.

Sustain is a powerful UK-based alliance of organisations and communities working together for a better system of food, farming and fishing, and cultivating the movement for change. Together, they advocate food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture, and promote equity.

The open letter is here.

For more information on Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming see here.

Image: COP26 highlights that the urgency of climate action is being felt by all stakeholder groups of our society. (source: Sustain / NiklasPntk, Pixabay www 2021)