Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
There is broad consensus among environmental scientists that our diets are literally killing the planet. What can we do to encourage a shift in global diet to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss? Achieving this won’t be easy. Our eating habits and tastes are both deeply personal and deeply entwined in our cultural, religious and nationalistic norms. Moreover, despite global diets being in constant flux, and despite there being many precedents for governments influencing what we eat, the topic remains highly contentious. In this session we explore two key questions: First, what works in promoting more sustainable eating? Second, how might we navigate the issue of political and public acceptability?
Toby Park - Senior Adivsor, Energy & Sustainability, Behavioural Insights Team
Dame Theresa Marteau - Director, Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge
Sophie Attwood - Senior Behavioral Scientist, Better Buying Lab at the World Resources Institute
Kerry McCarthy, MP
Sue Pritchard, RSA Food, Farming & Countryside Commission
There is broad consensus among environmental scientists that our diets are literally killing the planet. What can we do to encourage a shift in global diet to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss? Achieving this won’t be easy. Our eating habits and tastes are both deeply personal and deeply entwined in our cultural, religious and nationalistic norms. Moreover, despite global diets being in constant flux, and despite there being many precedents for governments influencing what we eat, the topic remains highly contentious. In this session we explore two key questions: First, what works in promoting more sustainable eating? Second, how might we navigate the issue of political and public acceptability?
Toby Park - Senior Adivsor, Energy & Sustainability, Behavioural Insights Team
Dame Theresa Marteau - Director, Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge
Sophie Attwood - Senior Behavioral Scientist, Better Buying Lab at the World Resources Institute
Kerry McCarthy, MP
Sue Pritchard, RSA Food, Farming & Countryside Commission
