Crab cakes made with fonio, an ancient West African grain, or Ratatouille prepared with “imperfect” produce to reduce food waste, are only a couple of the over 70 recipes included in a recently launched cookbook with climate-friendly and delicious recipes.
The Cookbook in Support of the United Nations: For People and Planet” is divided into chapters that include food systems, biodiversity, sustainable consumption and production, climate, as well as food waste, providing recipes, yes, but also insights into the carbon footprint of each dish.
Renowned chefs such as UN World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador Chef Manal Al Alem, and Chef Josรฉ Andres, as well as indigenous home cooks and farmers from around the world, have contributed to the book.
The book is the brainchild of Kitchen Connection, an organisation that for a decade has been bridging together culinary arts, sustainability and education, and driving the discussions on the need for a food systems transformation.
“We found that those in the highest-emitting countries in the world emit through our food choices about 3 kilograms of CO2 emissions per meal. The recipes in this book have 58.6 percent less carbon compared to an average meal from high-emitting regions of the world,” Kitchen Connection founder and New York University Professor Earlene Cruz, told UN News.
The cookbook also highlights and follows the World Health Organization’s macronutrient guidelines, making the recipes not only healthy for the planet, but also for everyone.
But most of all, it puts a spotlight on how important people’s food choices are and how they can impact their immediate environment, no matter where they cook.
Cruz said: “Whether we’re in cities, in suburban or rural areas, or somewhere as remote as Antarctica, consideration of our food choices and how they impact our immediate environment is paramount.”
Source: United News of Bangladesh