You may have noticed with delight the recent increase in food-related language in ECO, through lengthy cooking metaphors and kitchen-based prose. ECO cannot help but hope that this might translate into good language on food and agriculture making its way forward into the UNFCCC itself.
After two years of twists and turns, the recent progress in the Sharm El Sheikh Joint Work on agriculture and food security is starting to look interesting. But ECO was horrified to find, rotting in a corner of the language cupboard, an old and mouldy footnote explaining the term ‘sustainable agriculture’. The footnote reflects a random jumble of passing corporate fads and dangerous ideas including climate-smart agriculture, biotechnologies and even AI, alongside more credible concepts such as agroecology. As it was produced a year ago at SB58, we assumed it was long past its expiry date. Alas, we forgot that Big Ag’s products are full of preservatives and cannot be composted so easily.
ECO urges negotiators to avoid indigestion or even food poisoning by reframing workshop topics around systemic and holistic approaches, those that prioritize rights-based and agroecological pathways for food systems transformation, address the need for shifts to healthy and sustainable diets accessible for all, and reduce food loss and waste. The secret to a successful recipe is also to ensure that inclusivity and observer participation are at the heart of the joint work.
Meanwhile, it seems the COP29 presidency has also been inspired by recent ECO food metaphors, as they launched their brand new initiative “Harmoniya”. We’re curious to see what avenues for harmonization might emerge, especially if this helps us to better understand the chaotic but flourishing field of initiatives on food and agriculture.
However, this should avoid simply adding to the pile of existing initiatives. Instead, it should aim to increase funding available to grassroots farming communities on the frontlines of climate change impacts. The task is daunting, however, as we know the tendency of those funds to be devoured by corporate interests. In this important finance year, some of the trillions that must be shifted will urgently need to flow to agroecology and small-scale food producers.