3 thoughts on “Once Upon a Global Food System

  1. Maia,

    I very much enjoyed your article. I am a Climate Reality Leader who intuitively understands that people don’t ‘get’ the facts. They need to be engaged at an emotional level. For technocrats like me, this is a real challenge. When I make presentations, I’m usually restricted to presenting science ‘facts’ and occasionally expert projections. But, like you say, stories are what people remember. And, if I were to construct a narrative around the Future under Climate Change, it could be construed as Science Fiction or Alarmist. Time for me to saddle up and try! Keep up the good work – Jeff Rogers.

    1. Thanks Jeff, I really appreciate it!

      ‘Alarmist’ is such an interesting word. The climate science is indeed alarming, but somewhere along the way we were encouraged to communicate science without feeling to remove that sense of alarm (thereby omitting key information) and communication that sought to trigger emotion was branded biased or alarmist. Feeling is what drives people to act though, not facts alone, so I am convinced that this has been a key contributor to decades of climate inaction.

      Alarm is an uncomfortable emotion, but we know that the more we are (carefully) exposed to a trigger, the less alarming the trigger becomes. Early exposure is even better, and now that kids are learning about climate change as part of the curriculum I am hopeful that the days of denying the emotional level of the message are drawing to a close.

      Good luck in your work!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Latest blog post

The food system is a vital part of the climate solution

The UN recently stated that it finds ‘no credible pathway to 1.5C in place’ with current global commitments to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. In anticipation of the conclusion of COP27, here is a recap from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released in April 2022. This looks at possible solutions and mitigation strategies in response to the changing climate, including what role the food system can play in our fight against climate change.

Read more - The food system is a vital part of the climate solution

Sign up to our newsletter