There are many proposals for making the food system more sustainable, but most research finds that while agricultural solutions will help, diets and food waste must be addressed in climate change mitigation. Dietitians do not traditionally hold roles in environmental sustainability, but the urgent nature of climate change, and the huge potential for dietary changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, should push us to grow and collaborate.
Dietitians are an under-used asset in addressing climate change; our profession holds huge potential to have an impact on this urgent, global issue. There's a significant gap between what the research evidence is telling us about food and climate, and the way individuals and institutions currently act. To close this gap, dietitians must be involved as key players across the food system, planning menus, running campaigns, offering nutrition guidance to individuals, consulting for corporations, and more.
Learn more about us at drawdowndietetics.org.
Anneke Hobson is a registered dietitian and the founder and director at Drawdown Dietetics, a federal non-profit in Canada. She worked as a public health dietitian in Kingston, Ontario, for 5 years before leaving to start a private practice and to grow Drawdown Dietetics. She holds a Master of Public Health in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Toronto.