{"id":8693,"date":"2023-09-26T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T16:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/?p=8693"},"modified":"2023-11-22T12:05:39","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T16:05:39","slug":"putting-blue-food-on-the-menu-at-cop28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2023\/09\/26\/putting-blue-food-on-the-menu-at-cop28\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting blue food on the menu at COP28"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Karly Kelso (EDF), Dr. Michelle Tigchelaar (Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions), and Dr. Malin Jonell (Stockholm Resilience Center)<\/p>\n

This piece was originally published in Swedish here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The last few years have wrought havoc on the food supply, particularly for the people trapped in the cycle of poverty. COVID, climate change and conflict have disrupted supply chains, curtailed harvests and increased hunger. In 2022, 735 million people went hungry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We need to step up the pace<\/em> and the financing for blue foods to protect the future of our food supply and our planet.<\/p>\n

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Aquatic or \u201cblue\u201d foods \u2014 fish, shellfish, algae and aquatic plants that are captured in the wild or cultivated in freshwater or marine environments \u2014 are a vital source of nutrition for billions of people. They help provide essential micronutrients, such as vitamin A, zinc and iron, to some of the world\u2019s poorest regions, improve eye and brain health, and supply critical nutrients to children and pregnant and lactating mothers. And many aquatic species have a smaller climate footprint compared to terrestrial animal food sources.<\/p>\n

Blue foods are a solution to a major nutrition gap and can be an integral climate solution when invested in and managed for climate resiliency.<\/p>\n

Over three billion people depend on fish for their nutrition, and yet fisheries and aquatic food security continue to be globally undervalued and underfinanced. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: \u2018Life Below Water\u2019 is the least funded<\/em> of the seventeen SDGs. <\/strong><\/p>\n

As we finish New York Climate Week and look toward COP28 \u2014 where the host country, the United Arab Emirates, has committed to prioritizing the role of food systems \u2014 we need to speed up the progress<\/em> to meet our climate and<\/em> our food security goals.<\/p>\n

What does success look like?<\/p>\n