Food Tank and NRDC present Building Healthy Soils, Reducing Food Waste, and Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides at Climate Week NYC.

Join us for an event focused on the impact of food waste, nitrogen overuse, and pesticides on our food systems and our climate. The food and agriculture sector is responsible for one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, drives biodiversity loss, and creates risks to human health. Policies to improve climate outcomes can make farmers more profitable and resilient and foster healthier ecosystems and communities. Learn how NRDC is tackling these critical issues, from cities to farms, alongside leading scientists, chefs, farmers, policymakers, and other partners.

Agenda:

Opening Conversation
Rebecca Riley, Managing Director, Food & Agriculture, Nature, NRDC
Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank

Fireside Chat with Karen Ross and Gregory Jaffe
Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
Gregory Jaffe, Senior Advisor, Office of the Secretary, USDA

Panel Discussion: Healthy Soils
Sara Farley, Vice President, Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation
Dr. Daniel Rath, Agricultural Soil Carbon Scientist, NRDC
Gerardo Martinez, Farmer and Owner, Wild Kid Acres and CEO, Global Alliance of Latinos in Agriculture
Tim Bowles, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley

Fireside Chat with Karen Ross and Gregory Jaffe
Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
Gregory Jaffe, Senior Advisor, Office of the Secretary, USDA
Moderated by Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank

Lighting Talk with Elizabeth “Nena” Shaw
Elizabeth “Nena” Shaw, Director, Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Panel Discussion: Food Waste: Momentum Building at the Federal, State, and Local Levels
Madeline Keating, Senior Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council
Emily Broad Leib, Clinical Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic
Sophia Hosain, Zero Waste Manager, City of Baltimore
Kate MacKenzie, Executive Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy
Moderated by Deena Shanker, Food Journalist, Bloomberg

Panel Discussion: A New Silent Spring? The Pesticides Threatening Pollinators, Ecosystems, and Our Health
Kathy Nolan, MD, Senior Research Director, Catskill Mountainkeeper, NRDC
Dr. Leslie Ries, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology; Georgetown University
Dan Raichel, Director, Pollinators & Pesticides, Nature, NRDC
Dr. Judy Wu-Smart, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Moderated by Chloe Sorvino, Journalist, Forbes

Fireside Chat with Sam Kass
Sam Kass, American political advisor, chef, and news personality, who served as President Barack Obama's Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy
Moderated by Deena Shanker, Food Journalist, Bloomberg

Closing Fireside Chat Conversation
Manish Bapna, President, NRDC Confirmed
Moderated by Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank