Food & Climate Change - Despite the fact that about a quarter of all Greenhouse Gas emissions come from food production, this is something rarely spoken about. Even if we managed to stop all emissions from fossil fuels immediately, emissions from the global food system would still make it impossible to limit warming to 1.5°C and difficult even to realize the 2°C target (Clark et al., 2020). Thus, major changes in how food is produced and consumed are needed if we want to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The foods emitting the most Greenhouse Gasses are animal-based foods like meat, and dairy (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). Food & Public Health - The Norwegian Directorate of Health shows that 154 billion NOK could be saved each year if the population followed the nutritional guidelines. This money could be saved by having a healthier population, by reduced health costs, and financial loss through work absence (Helsedirektoratet, 2021; Helsedirektoratet, 2016). Red and processed meat, saturated fat and dairy are harmful to human health (Tilman & Clark, 2014; Westhoek et al., 2014) and are foods that the Norwegian dietary guidelines, with an exception for dairy, recommends having a limited intake of (Helsedirektoratet, 2021). Research shows that vegans and vegetarians are running lower probability of cardiovascular disease and cancer (Dinu et al., 2017), which are the leading causes of death in Norway (Strøm et al., 2023). Meat consumption in Norway is higher than the Health Ministry recommends (Helsedirektoratet, 2022) and 1% of Norwegians indicate being vegan, and 3,7% being vegetarian (Abel & Totland, 2021). Hence, a plant heavy or fully plant-based diet is better both for people’s health and the health of the Earth. This talk will talk about this nexus of food – climate – health.
