Can We Eat Our Way Out of Climate Change?

Providing nutritious, safe and affordable food in the face of the Earth’s changing climate is an urgent global challenge. How can we produce enough food for everyone at the same time as improving our relationship with our environment? And can what we eat contribute to a more sustainable future for communities on the West Coast, across North America and around the world?

Join the conversation with Peter Dhillon, chairman of Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., and Steve Banwart, dean for global development at the University of Leeds, as they explore how we begin to tackle the tensions between climate change and food supply.

They’ll discuss how fostering closer collaboration and partnership between researchers, food producers, policymakers, communities and businesses worldwide will help us find pathways toward a radically different global food system—one that works with nature and adapts to our changing climate. They’ll also delve into how we challenge assumptions to break new ground in developing climate-smart, socially just solutions that will create a positive future for our people and planet.

As the first Canadian chairman of Ocean Spray, Peter Dhillon has experienced first hand what it takes to build a global plant-based cooperative that remains closely connected to first nation, indigenous and immigrant communities. As chair of the the British Columbia Food Security Task Force, he was also instrumental in providing recommendations to the Canadian government on agricultural development needed in the province, which relies heavily on imported produce from California.

Professor Steve Banwart is the dean for global development at the University of Leeds, and also the director of the Global Food and Environment Institute, which brings together leading scientists, engineers and social scientists working with universities, alumni, farmers and citizens around the world to find new solutions to enhance the future habitability of our planet.