572. A Victory for Food Workers, Dignity-Focused Models for Food Pantries, and Conversation with Roger Thurow on Abiding Hunger in the U.S.

Hi, everyone.

Each week on Food Talk with Dani Nirenberg, I share some of the news that makes me excited, energized, infuriated, or curious.

I want to start with a sobering new report from the United Nations Environment Program.

Global warming is now expected to reach at least 1.8 degrees Celsius, which is well beyond the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal set by the Paris Agreement several years ago.

That is obviously very scary, but it is not reason to give up.

There is a lot of hope.

Scientists say we can still limit the damage and eventually bring temperatures back down.

And many of the solutions are ones we already know, such as cutting methane emissions, including from livestock and food waste, shifting diets.

and acting much faster across sectors.

As the United Nation Environment Program puts it, every fraction of a degree matters.

This is not an argument for resignation, but rather for urgency to action, which I couldn't agree more.

We still have to act.

Next, I want to share some good news for workers.

More than 2,500 workers at a national beef plant in Kansas ratified a new five-year union contract securing higher wages, bonuses, and improvements to health care as well as time off.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2 called it one of the best contracts in the beef processing industry.

And I loved what union president Martin Rosas said.

He says, this didn't happen by chance.

It happened because workers organized and stood together.

That's really the power of collective action.

That's incredible.

I also want to highlight an interesting shift happening at food pantries.

Instead of handing out pre-bagged groceries, more pantries are now operating much more like grocery stores, allowing people to choose the food that they actually want and need.

This idea is not new, but it's gaining a lot of momentum, and it can reduce food waste while giving people more choice and more dignity.

As Craig Maynor, who runs a pantry in New Jersey, says, the goal is for people to get what they need, not simply what someone else thinks they should have.

Next to the global food crisis, Food Tank friend and World Food Prize laureate Kerry Fowler and his co-authors are warning that we may be heading toward another major food crisis.

Food prices rose in August to levels not seen since 2022, while drought, conflict, extreme weather, and disruptions to fertilizer supplies are creating new risks.

Their argument is that we still have time to act, but countries need to act together.

They're calling for coordinated food assistance, support for drought-resilient agriculture, resources to help prepare for a potential super El Nino, and diplomatic efforts to help keep food and fertilizer moving.

And I think that last point is really incredibly important.

At a time when international cooperation can feel increasingly difficult or even impossible, food security is exactly where we need more of that cooperation, not less.

And finally, some hopeful news from East Africa.

Equity Group and the International Fund for Agricultural Development are launching a $200 million climate finance initiative for smallholder farmers and rural businesses.

The program is expected to reach about 260,000 farmers and 500 small and medium-sized businesses with at least half of the beneficiaries women and roughly a third young people.

Climate finance too often fails to reach those farmers who need it the most, like young people and women.

And so this is an effort to change that and help strengthen food security and climate resilience for an estimated 1.2 million people.

So glad to end on some good news.

Thank you all.

Please email me at danielle at foodtank.com with news from your community.

Thank you.