Regenera Institute, Comida do Amanhã Institute and Assobio advocate for including agroecological food on the conference’s official menu in Belém

The food that will be served during the 2025 Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Brazil to an estimated 40 thousand participants from around the world who will be in Belém during the period, is the theme of the event ” Na Mesa da COP30“. It will be held on November 5, at the Indigenous Peoples Memorial, in Brasilia. At the center of the table, during a gastronomic sensory experience, concepts will be discussed regarding the type of food Brazil intends to offer at the world’s largest annual global climate meeting.

The coalition formed by Regenera Institute, Comida do Amanhã Institute and Associação dos Negócios de Sociobioeconomia da Amazônia (Assobio), organizations dedicated to the climate and food systems agenda, will officially launch the COP30 Food Initiative during the event. The movement understands that it is essential to give prominence to food systems in the agenda of confronting the climate crisis and to offer agroecological products to conference participants. Brazil is among the world’s 10 largest emitters of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), and 2/3 of total emissions result from the hegemonic pattern of food production – directly from agricultural production or indirectly due to deforestation, according to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals Estimates System (SEEG).

Taking agroecological products from the Amazonian socio-biodiversity, family farming and low-carbon agriculture to the plates of participants in negotiations to reduce emissions across the planet is not only symbolic but also has the potential of generating positive and concrete transformations in the relationship with food in Brazil and in the world. It will be a diplomatic example that it is possible to feed a large number of people with agroecological food, as long as there is coordination and intention.

At this event for guests, the COP30 Food Initiative will offer a menu with a mix of textures and flavors from the Amazonian diversity, such as açaí, tucupi, nuts, pupunha palm hearts, cassava, tonka beans and babassu. The menu is under the responsibility of the Cooperativa Central do Cerrado.

“We hope that the COP30 management will commit to bringing Amazonian sociobiodiversity to the table. Thus, it will take the first step to support the participatory construction of a model capable of promoting good living for the Amazonians, combined with the preservation of the forest, and to mitigate climate impacts”, says Francine Xavier, co-founder and director of the Comida do Amanhã Institute.

“Agroecological and socio-biodiversity producers have the capacity and interest to produce much more, but for this, it is necessary to expand the urban markets that this production currently reaches,” says Maurício Alcântara, co-founder and director of the Regenera Institute. “The food distribution model we have today in Brazil is the result of decades of investments and policies that do not favor small production. With COP30, we have the opportunity to do things differently in Belém, and to establish a legacy that lasts beyond the conference”, he adds.

“Historically, the Amazonian population is not called to discussions, but bears the consequences of decisions regarding the Brazilian food production model. In this sense, we work to ensure that our alliance profits from COP30 in building space for Amazonian producers to play a leading role, helping Brazil to recognize the importance of bioeconomy as a vector of change in food production in the country and, consequently, in the fight against climate change”, says Paulo Reis, president of the Associação dos Negócios de Sociobioeconomia da Amazônia (Assobio).

Agroecological practices contribute to addressing the climate crisis

In the climate debate, conventional food production is seen as a problem. However, agroecological practices (such as diversified production in agroforestry systems, the valorization of ancestral knowledge from indigenous and traditional populations, and  the avoidance of pesticides) frame food production as a solution for the climate agenda. These practices point to ways for adapting to climate change, proposing new chains of food production, circulation and consumption; for mitigation, since they contribute to keeping the forest standing; and for the reforestation of degraded areas, without ceasing to produce.

During the event, spokespersons from the organizations will talk about this initiative. Among the confirmed guests are representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Social Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, Special Advisory on International Affairs of the Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Pará. Representatives of national and international organizations and institutions, such as WWF, CONAQ, Ação da Cidadania, as well as producers from the Amazon Region and representatives of civil society, especially those working to fight hunger and for climate justice, will also be present.