On World Food Day, a call for food to be prioritized in climate policy
As the world prepares for COP30 in Belém, Brazil (November 10–21), Slow Food calls on global leaders to place the just transition of food systems at the heart of climate negotiations.
The climate crisis has reshaped our world, and unless we urgently rethink how food is grown, processed, traded and consumed, we will never be able to respond effectively. This is why Slow Food is presenting its key demands to government representatives participating in COP30.
“Food is the missing link in climate policy. It is both a driver and a victim of the climate crisis, yet it also holds the power to become our most effective solution when rooted in the values of good, clean and fair. Let COP30 be remembered not just for words and promises, but for concrete action. Let it be the moment we prove that real solutions exist and can be put in motion. On this World Food Day, whose theme is ‘Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future,’ we remind leaders that the right to food is universal, yet billions still struggle to access safe, nutritious and affordable food. Today, 2.6 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. We call on the world’s leaders to make food central to climate action.” – Edward Mukiibi, Slow Food President.
In a time of deep uncertainty, unity must lead the way. Slow Food envisions the legacy of Belém as a renewed commitment to multilateralism—the only viable path toward solving the climate crisis.
As the EAT-Lancet Commission recently stated, there can be no safe solution to the climate and biodiversity crises without transforming global food systems. Even with a global transition away from fossil fuels, current food systems alone could push the world beyond the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement.
COP30 must move beyond symbolic agreements and deliver tangible actions and incentives that help countries transition to agroecology and build just, equitable food systems. Updated national climate plans (NDCs) must include clear, measurable and binding targets, backed by adequate funding and realistic timelines. These plans should address every stage of the food chain—from production to consumption, food loss, soil health and biodiversity—building on the momentum of the COP28 Emirates Food Systems Declaration.
“True climate resilience begins with empowering communities to reclaim their right to define how their food is produced, distributed and consumed,” concludes Mukiibi.
Finally, COP30 must address the climate finance gap by channeling substantial resources into agroecological practices, particularly in the Global South. The Baku-to-Belém roadmap should serve as a vehicle to accelerate progress toward mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, ensuring that financial flows support farmers and ecosystems, not undermine them.
Slow Food’s key demands to governments:
- Prioritize agroecology: Stop the industrialization of agriculture, redirect subsidies to serve public goods and protect biodiversity.
- Recognize food sovereignty as climate action: Empower communities and reject false solutions like carbon offsets and other technofixes.
- Redirect climate finance: Channel $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 into agroecology, not fossil fuels.
- Guarantee food as a human right: Ensure access to nutritious, diverse, plant-rich, culturally appropriate diets for everyone.
- Break free from fossil fuels: Food systems must be liberated from fossil fuel dependency.
- Defend local food systems: Invest in short supply chains, Indigenous foodways and farmers’ markets.
Slow Food has joined more than 100 organizations in signing a joint letter reiterating these demands. The coalition stresses that reducing large-scale industrial livestock production, aligning consumption with the Planetary Health Diet and shifting toward more plant-based foods are essential to achieving both global climate and biodiversity goals.
Governments must ensure the right to healthy and nutritious food, particularly for vulnerable communities and regions, as they take these steps.
Slow Food calls on world leaders to make COP30 the turning point — the moment when food, culture and climate come together on every table and in every policy.
Slow Food is a global movement that unites local groups and activists around a shared vision: ensuring that everyone has access to food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it, and good for the planet. Founded in Italy in 1986 as a response to the growing industrialization of food and the rise of fast food culture, Slow Food has since expanded its reach to more than millions of supporters in 160 countries worldwide.
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