Consumers care about climate change, one of the world’s toughest challenges. In fact, a recent YouGov survey of U.S. adults reveals that 73% of Americans feel fighting climate change is important and of those, 92% agree with the statement “our planet is worth protecting.”
-62% of all U.S. adults agree that “food choices can impact the planet” and more than half (52%) agree they would switch to a different food brand if it could impact climate change.
-Also, half of Americans agree that while protecting the planet is important, they don’t know what they can personally do to make a difference With each purchase, consumers contribute to what needs to be an agricultural revolution, by supporting farmers with greenhouse gas-busting farming practices and contributing to radically reducing carbon emissions that pollute the atmosphere and cause it to trap heat, making our planet considerably hotter over time.
For many F&B companies, the largest emissions sources tend to cluster in three primary groups: food production for their raw materials, manufacturing, and supply chain and logistics. They might make changes at their factories to reduce their emissions, or change or shorten their supply chains, but the actual work at farms is often further from their control. By choosing carbon neutral and sustainable foods, fast casual restaurants and companies OF ALL KINDS can eliminate some of the biggest sources of emissions and do so in ways that also provide other co-benefits to the farmers who are stewarding the land.
There’s scientific consensus that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be cut by 50 percent relative to current levels by 2030 and reduced to net zero by 2050. Increasingly companies, especially those that are consumer-facing, are aligning themselves with this agenda. In less than one year the number of companies with net zero pledges doubled from 500 in 2019 to more than 1,000 in 2020. But why wait until 2050 when SO much can be done NOW?
WHO:
Neutral Foods: As the leading carbon neutral foods company in the U.S., Neutral is disrupting the agricultural industry by offering the highest quality, organic, great-tasting milk that is better for the planet. Neutral achieves this by working with world-class suppliers and manufacturing partners that allow the company to scale up quickly to mitigate climate change.
-Jim Jarman, Vice-President of Product & Marketing
Shake Shack: This fast casual restaurant serves elevated versions of the classics. It partners with Neutral Foods to source carbon neutral milk for its milkshakes, starting with the Pacific Northwest and expanding from there.
-Corey Blumenthal, Sustainability Specialist
Muhammad Lila: Emmy award-winning international correspondent for CNN and ABC. He’s also the CEO of Goodable, a fast growing good news platform. He will share why sustainability is one of Goodable's storytelling priorities and his own takeaways from talking with dairy farmers who are implementing climate-smart practices.
-Muhammad Lila
Moderator - Helena Bottemiller Evich: Helena is the founder and editor-in-chief of Food Fix. She previously led coverage of food and agriculture at POLITICO for nearly a decade.
-Helena Bottemiller Evich
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