We’re at a critical point in shaping the future of our food systems. Status quo agricultural production and food consumption patterns contribute to excessive carbon emissions, land degradation and unhealthy populations worldwide. 跨行业的领导者, 政府, and civil society are syncing up efforts to get our food system on the right track, and one of the most powerful levers to achieve this in many contexts will be a shift to plant-forward diets.
Plant-forward diets incorporate a high share and diversity of plant-derived ingredients. They include offerings that can combine or blend plant-based ingredients with smaller shares of animal-based ingredients, such old-fashioned oatmeal made with milk and topped with fruit and nuts. These diets are nutrient-rich and better for the environment than those heavily reliant on animal proteins. 事实上，Project Drawdown最近 确认 plant-forward diets as the climate solution with the highest potential in the food and agriculture sector.
My experience overseeing food service across 谷歌’s global offices has reaffirmed my conviction that plant-forward foods must be central to diets of the future. This shift is good for individuals and good for business: we have seen enormous value in working with our food service partners and chefs to create offerings that are delicious and appealing to 谷歌rs from different food cultures worldwide. 谷歌服务于近300家公司,超过175人每天吃5000顿饭,000名员工, and we are confident that our plant-forward food approach allows our workforce to be more productive and perform better, supporting a culture to bring teams together and attract and retain talent. The restaurant and food service industry has a huge opportunity and significant influence in our collective plant-forward future, 尤其是考虑到普通的美国消费者 花56% 他们在外吃饭的钱.
A new publication from the 正规博彩十大网站 (WBCSD) and Deloitte, ‘The plant-forward opportunity: A business playbook to meet consumer demand within planetary boundaries’, focuses on how agrifood companies further up the value chain – especially food manufacturers – can leverage the momentum around plant-forward foods to generate tangible business benefits including revenue growth, 环境、社会和治理领导, 降低成本, 降低风险. It underscores strategies to prioritize plant-forward ingredients in existing and new products through reformulating, 修改, 复制, 重新构想投资组合, which requires commitment and investment from companies’ cross-functional stakeholders.
The ‘business playbook’ concludes that the transformation to plant-forward diets requires collective action, including coordinated business efforts to set industry ambition; innovate to create new and appealing plant-forward options for consumers; and advocate across 政府s, 商业领袖, 和消费者. 谷歌 has prioritized collective action in its own workplace strategy, for example our partnership with the Culinary Institute of America to develop a plant-forward teaching curriculum for our chef network and beyond.
以我作为农业委员会联合主席的新角色 & WBCSD的食物通道板, I urge us all to consider and participate in this collective action that will enable a plant-forward, 可持续和健康的食物系统. If you are interested in learning about how to join in, please contact Melanie Levine at levine@hebhgkq.com.
