Our Climate Kitchen Food Values

What does climate-friendly food even mean, we hear you wondering?

At Climate Kitchen, we created a value system all 3 of us could stand behind. Climate-friendly food is: plant-forward, responsibly produced (and packaged!), real food that tastes great, fits your family needs, and won’t be wasted.

Less rulebook than general blueprint, it’s a living, breathing value system that we will continue to refine and evolve with all of you.

Let’s dig in!

-Sonalie, Sophie & Nico

Plant-forward 

In general, foods from the plant kingdom are better for us and the planet. So we at CK stand behind the very best science that recommends a plant-forward way of eating. Does that mean everyone must adopt a strictly vegan or vegetarian lifestyle? Definitely not, as it’s all about everyone eating a little better than just a few people eating perfectly, but plant-forward means a general emphasis on plant-based foods in your day-to-day meals. Think: whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and other legumes, plant oils, and of course, plenty of fruits and vegetables. Animal-based foods like dairy, eggs, meat, and seafood may play a supporting role in small amounts for those who want to include them in their diets. 

Responsibly produced (and packaged)

We also recommend striving for foods from the most humane, just, and environmentally-friendly production practices possible. How to know what those are? We’re here to help navigate the information overload, misinformation, and general complexity of where food comes from, so we’ll be unpacking all that and much more throughout Climate Kitchen essays and recommendations. 

Real food

We also stand behind the very best science emphasizing real food (whole and minimally processed foods vs ultra-processed foods) where possible—whatever you have access to. (And no, this doesn’t mean you have to cook a two-hour dinner from scratch every night!)

Tastes great

Climate Kitchen is for food-loving families who care, so it goes without saying that the food must be delicious. If healthy, humane, just, and sustainable foods don’t taste good, it won’t matter how healthy, humane, just, or sustainable they are because none of us will want to eat them! 

Meets your family's needs

We fully recognize that real food must be affordable, accessible, and culturally relevant, as well as aligned with your religious beliefs, medical considerations, allergies, and general preferences. As parents and caregivers, we’re all strapped for time, so we fully appreciate that sustainable food must also be convenient and fit the other needs of our fast-paced family lives. We’re big believers in the adage of “don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” So do the best you can and don’t stress about getting it right every time; every step toward better counts. 

Won’t be wasted

Along with plant-forward eating, there’s no better way to be a climate-friendly food family than to keep food waste at bay, so the more you’re enjoying leftovers, using everything in your fridge, making a grocery list to avoid overbuying, and taking other steps to reduce how much food your household wastes, the better. (And when possible, compost those food scraps, since food waste in landfills is bad news all around.)