A Scottish organisation and partners are running a 12-day event during COP26, highlighting the importance of food systems within the climate conversation.

Recipes for Resilience, run by non-government organisation Nourish Scotland, is an event dedicated to food and climate, composed of a variety of panels, screenings, hands-on events and community engagement.

The events so far have covered a presentation and Q&A on Indian natural farming programmes, a session on the importance of food heritage in managing climate change, and a free-to-attend Wasteless lunch, serving food made with ingredients that would have gone to waste otherwise.

Events to come include a screening of “The Ants and the Grasshopper”, a documentary film by Raj Patel, which explores the intersectionality between climate change and other global social issues. There will also be a panel and discussion on indigenous agricultural communities in Kenya, and a session from organisation Scotland the Bread, detailing how to grow grain and bake bread for a more climate-friendly loaf.

Nourish Scotland works with organisations and people in local communities on improving food systems. They campaign to influence the Scottish government and local councils to build more sustainable food systems within Scotland. They also support young people to become farmers and help them to set up more sustainable environmentally-friendly farming practices.

Twenty eight partners are working with Nourish on Recipes for Resilience, after food systems were not included on the COP26 agenda. Food systems account for one third of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The programme of events at Recipes for Resilience will highlight people in Scotland and around the world working to transform their food system, through coherent and integrated approaches.

Pete Ritchie, Director at Nourish Scotland, commented:

COP26 is a ripe opportunity to showcase a better food future – one that nourishes us all and restores our planet. But current industrialised food systems are based around extraction and production, giving rise to the climate and nature emergencies, crippling food insecurity, undernutrition and health challenges from poor diets, and extreme socio-economic inequalities and labour exploitation. Because put simply, our global approach to food will determine whether or not we meet the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. While the formal programme avoids the issue, Recipes for Resilience will act as the stand-in Food Pavilion.

We invite you all to join us throughout COP to explore the recipes for a resilient food system.

A full programme of the events throughout Recipes for Resilience can be found at: nourishscotland.org/campaigns/cop26-and-food-systems.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash