Carlotta Mast is the executive director of content and insights at New Hope Network and a member of the Climate Collaborative advisory board.
Climate change is real, and it’s time for the food industry to step up and invest in solutions to global warming rather than continuing to be a victim of climate change and an active participant in the problem.
This is why the New Hope Network, organizers of the Natural Products Expo natural and organic tradeshows, is partnering with the Climate Collaborative to host the inaugural Climate Day activation conference on March 8, 2017, at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California.
Climate Day is designed to educate food industry leaders on the commitments their organizations can make today to help reverse global warming and to galvanize those leaders to get involved and commit to fueling positive climate change in 2017 and beyond. Now is the time for meaningful, measurable action on climate change, and the food industry has a unique opportunity to lead in an area where the U.S. government is pulling back and business can either become an even bigger part of the problem or an actual solution to global warming.
“No industry has a bigger impact on climate change than agriculture and food, both as a source of the problem and as a solution,” says Paul Hawken, executive director of Project Drawdown and the Climate Day conference keynote. Hawken will share Project Drawdown’s latest research on the concrete ways food and agriculture can be used to reverse global warming.
The Climate Day conference is free to all Expo West badge holders, but those who won’t be at the show can access all of the Climate Day programming live for free on newhope.com.
Here’s the Climate Day livestream schedule:
12:30 pm PST: Climate Day welcome: Joel Makower, Greenbiz.com
12:45 pm PST: Why Climate Matters—The Consumer’s Perspective: Eric Pierce, New Hope Network
1:00 pm PST: Retailer Roundtable: Sheila Ongie, National Co+op Grocers; Corinne Shindelar, Independent Natural Foods Retailers Association; Jennifer Silberman, VP of Sustainability and Wellness, Target
1:50 pm PST: The Climate Opportunity of Agriculture Roundtable: Birgit Cameron, Patagonia Provisions; Dave Alexander, Global Organics; Jonathan Reinbold, Organic Valley; Tracy Misiewicz, The Organic Center
2:55 pm PST: Climate Executive Roundtable: John Foraker, Annie’s; Jessica Rolph, Happy Family; Chris Mann, Guayaki; Robynn Shrader, National Go+op Grocers; Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm
4:00 pm PST: Climate Policy Briefing: Anne Kelly, CERES/BICEP; Joseph Majkut, Niskanen Center
4:35 pm PST: Keynote Speaker: Paul Hawken, Project Drawdown
6:30 pm PST: Film Screening & Panel Discussion: Kiss The Ground
Climate Day will conclude with a sneak preview of select scenes from the upcoming documentary, Kiss The Ground, and panel discussion about the film. Scheduled to hit theaters in 2018, this film provides a clear solution to climate change through food choices. Based on a forthcoming book with the same title, Kiss the Ground focuses on regenerative agriculture and the heroes on the front lines of this new agricultural and food revolution.
Following the film preview, the topic of how brands and their consumers can fuel the transition to regenerative agriculture will be discussed by Rose Marcario, Patagonia; David Bronner, Dr. Bronner; John Roulac, Nutiva; David Vetter, Grain Place Foods; Kristin Ohlson, author; Tim LaSalle, Chico State University; Ray Archuleta, NRCS USDA; and Finian Makepeace, Kiss the Ground.
