Menus of Change: Food sustainability an economic issue Trump must face

HYDE PARK - How is it possible to promote sustainable foods and environmental protection under a President that doubts climate change?

For panelists at the fifth annual Menus of Change summit, the answer was to sell these ideas in a way that might appeal to President Donald Trump's administration, such as economic benefits and job creation. 

The political climate is further complicating what is already a complex issue within the food industry, the panel said.

"It's a challenge right now, I think, to link sustainability with almost anything," said Michael Hamm, C. S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University.

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Food and hospitality industry leaders and representatives from companies including McDonald's, Starbucks, Sodexo and more gathered at The Culinary Institute of America for the three-day summit exploring strategies on implementing sustainable, appetizing menus

What humans do to promote sustainability and preserve the environment over the next 50 years will impact the planet's health for the next 10,000 years, according to Jonathan Farnell, CEO at the EAT Foundation.

"The way we're producing, distributing and consuming food is killing our people and killing the planet," he said. "And, at the same time, it's a major source for growing inequality."

While he said there is no silver bullet solution to sustainability, Farnell pointed to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement as frameworks for progress in developing a sustainable diet and a healthier planet.

Earlier this month, Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

"These goals are a beacon and a guide for humanity as to how we might progress during the next 15 years to an inclusive society that takes care of the planet's resources, and food is really integral to every single one of these goals," Farnell said. 

In one of the numerous panels held during the summit, experts on food sustainability pondered the ways the issue could get attention under the Trump administration.

Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, criticized both Trump and Republican Congress members for rolling back progress toward sustainable practices.

"Trump has done a huge disservice to the world in abdicating leadership on climate change, but it's not just this one person that's the problem," he said.

To defend sustainable practices, Willett suggested an appeal towards the health of future generations.

"A lot of people understand what they pass on to their children and grandchildren is something of value," he said.

Hamm said framing the issue in terms of economic development may make sustainability an easier sell. Green jobs and food hub development can be pitched as potentially lucrative, he said.

"A lot of the stuff that moves us down a path toward greater sustainability is, in fact, an economic development tool," Hamm said.

But the food industry leaders in attendance also have the ability to promote sustainability," Hamm said.

"You all are the ones that, in reality, have much of the power in terms of influencing your local legislators that are representatives in Congress," he said.

Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW