CLASSACTors learn at lunch: JASON CLAY '73

Producing food has always been essential to human survival. As population and consumption have grown, food production and trade have intensified to address global demand and the need for food security. As a result, the environmental and climate impacts of providing food for the world have increased dramatically. Food production is one of the largest contributors to climate change. It is more complicated to address than either energy or transportation, yet receives only 2-4% of global climate funding. This is a danger sign. Soon food production will likely be the single largest emitter of the CO2 emissions contributing to climate change. Yet, food production, when done right, can reduce and sequester emissions. Jason Clay '73 explored some of the key issues and trends in this essential human activity that need to be addressed, as well as a few of the strategies he is working on to shrink the footprint of the global food system.

Click below for Jason's slides from the webinar - please forward these widely, as they contain cutting edge information about the role of food production, food waste and our environment. Note that these slides should not be altered in any way.

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JASON CLAY '73, PhD
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETS & FOOD
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND

Jason Clay helps reduce the most significant environmental impacts of global food production. Through the Markets Institute he identifies emerging issues and trends that affect the global food system. He has run a family farm, worked for the USDA, taught at Harvard and Yale and spent more than 45 years working on human rights and environmental issues in NGOs. In 1988, a Grateful Dead concert funded his efforts to help Indigenous people access global markets. He launched Ben & Jerry’s Rainforest Crunch and 50 other products. He pivoted WWF’s work to address the drivers of biodiversity loss by working on agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, finance, seafood, and corporate engagement. He led the creation of global standards for soy, sugar, beef, cotton, salmon, shrimp and 20 other commodities. He launched Codex Planetarius the 1% Fund to reduce the key impacts of food produced for global trade. Clay studied anthropology, economics and agriculture at Harvard, the London School of Economics, and Cornell, where he earned his PhD.