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Climate Solutions Week: The future of food Climate change is affecting our food, and our food is affecting the climate. NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about the search for solutions, from how we farm to what we cook to reducing food waste.

NPR's Climate Solutions WeekNPR's Climate Solutions Week

Climate Solutions Week: The future of food

Illustration with the words "Climate Solutions Week" surrounded by food and drink, including wine, chocolate, noodles in a takeout box, a burger, fruit and vegetables
Jackie Lay/NPR

September 9-15, 2024

Climate experts say when it comes to global warming, pay attention to what we eat. Food and agriculture make up more than 25% of the pollution that heats our planet. What's driving all that climate pollution in food? Food waste, deforestation, and a huge global demand for beef, to name a few.

When it comes to climate change, food matters. So NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about the search for solutions. We'll explore how we grow food, what we're shopping for in the grocery store and cooking, what we're eating, and what we end up throwing away.

Latest stories

How We Shop & Cook

Micaeli and Gerhard du Plessis sometimes use a grocery delivery service, as well as prepackaged meal kits, and they get takeout delivered to their suburban Washington, D.C., home about once a week. Between two full-time jobs and two children, it makes time-saving sense for them. But they have wondered how that affects their carbon footprint.

Micaeli and Gerhard du Plessis sometimes use a grocery delivery service, as well as prepackaged meal kits, and they get takeout delivered to their suburban Washington, D.C., home about once a week. Between two full-time jobs and two children, it makes time-saving sense for them. But they have wondered how that affects their carbon footprint.
Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Kellman/NPR

Is getting food delivered worse for the climate? Sometimes it’s better

How & Where We Farm

Hilery Gobert, owner of Driftwood Farm, harvests white bush scallop squash on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Iowa, Louisiana. Gobert, a Southern University Small Farmer Agriculture Leadership Institute graduate, practices sustainable farming by focusing on creating an agriculturally productive ecosystem that replicates the diversity, sustainability, and resilience of a natural ecosystem.

Hilery Gobert, owner of Driftwood Farm, harvests white bush scallop squash on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Iowa, Louisiana. Gobert, a Southern University Small Farmer Agriculture Leadership Institute graduate, practices sustainable farming by focusing on creating an agriculturally productive ecosystem that replicates the diversity, sustainability, and resilience of a natural ecosystem. Leslie Gamboni hide caption

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Leslie Gamboni

These small Black-owned farms are growing crops with the climate in mind
An aerial view of the Imperial Dam on March 3, 2023 in Winterhaven, Calif. The farmers of California's Imperial Valley — a stretch of desert along the Mexican border — use more Colorado River water each year than the states of New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming combined.

An aerial view of the Imperial Dam on March 3, 2023 in Winterhaven, Ca. The farmers of California's Imperial Valley — a stretch of desert along the Mexican border — use more Colorado River water each year than the states of New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming combined. Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

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Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Can eating less beef and dairy help save the Colorado River?
Jim Knopik winds up a twine fence to let his cattle into a new area of pasture for grazing on his central Nebraska ranch. Knopik uses a ranching practice called mob grazing, which aims to improve soil quality and other natural resources through cattle ranching.

Jim Knopik winds up a twine fence to let his cattle into a new area of pasture for grazing on his central Nebraska ranch. Knopik uses a ranching practice called mob grazing, which aims to improve soil quality and other natural resources through cattle ranching. Elizabeth Rembert/Harvest Public Media hide caption

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Elizabeth Rembert/Harvest Public Media

Cows produce planet-warming gases. What does that mean for a beef-lover’s diet?

 Harvest Public Media

Reporting teams across the NPR Network dedicated a week to stories and conversations about the search for climate solutions. Your dollars help power that journalism and make it available to everyone, free of charge. Please join us by donating today. Right now, your support will be matched dollar for dollar — doubling your impact.

Useful tips from Life Kit

Mussels from the U.S., Arctic char from Canada and anchovies from the U.S. are often good options if you're trying to eat seafood that's sustainable.

Mussels from the U.S., Arctic char from Canada and anchovies from the U.S. are often good options if you're trying to eat seafood that's sustainable. HUIZENG HU/Getty; Cbording/Getty; Israel Sebastian/Getty hide caption

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HUIZENG HU/Getty; Cbording/Getty; Israel Sebastian/Getty

Do you love seafood? Here's how to eat it responsibly

Around the Network

A box of food scraps that will be composted sits at the Norcal Waste Systems transfer station April 21, 2009 in San Francisco, California.

A box of food scraps that will be composted sits at the Norcal Waste Systems transfer station April 21, 2009 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Creative ways communities are reducing food waste

For more climate solutions, check out our stories from 2023.