Big Food just got exposed.💥

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Read time today: 2:34 min

Hey - It's Lia.

It’s Friday morning. You are reading VITAMIN C 🍋. 

This week took me from Switzerland to Denmark, and I’m coming back with a suitcase full of new fresh ideas and inspirations.

Below are some early reflections — the rest will unfold in the weeks ahead.

1. [Food for Thought]❓Fixing climate change without agriculture is like trying to fly without wings.

We talk about oil and gas. We fear steel and cement.

But the system with the largest footprint — the one that feeds, clothes, and powers us— is hiding in plain sight.

Agriculture is the planet’s most urgent systems problem. It emits more methane than the entire fossil fuel industry. It uses 70% of all freshwater. It occupies more land than any other human activity.

And yet, it remains misunderstood, underestimated, and underdiscussed.

The new AgMap from RA Capital Management’s Team is a data-rich visualisation that makes the true scope of agriculture impossible to ignore.

Check it out here.

2. [Report] 🧐 Big Food is getting a reality check

I just discovered the latest report from the World Benchmarking Alliance (2023) - it ranks the sustainability performance of the 350 most influential global food and agriculture companies.

Ranked solely on public disclosures, the message is clear: if you're big enough to dominate the system, you're big enough to be held accountable.

Check it out here.

3. [Inspiration] 🔁 This tiny shift changed behavior.

What if changing the world didn’t require protest, policy, or persuasion?

Just... design.

A study with 647 hotel guests proved that simply putting vegetarian dishes at the top of the menu can drastically shift behavior—without saying a word.

The insight?

Presentation matters. Visibility matters. Default patterns matter.

When plant-based meals are shown as real choices, not side notes, they get picked more. Simple as that.

And in a world where food delivery and digital menus are the norm, this insight could scale fast.

Read the full article here.

4. [Science] ➡️ From greenhouse gases to hunger - this is the real chain reaction.

Climate change is not an abstract threat—it’s a daily reality for millions, especially when it comes to food.

This visual from Fanzo et al. is a sobering reminder: behind every disrupted harvest or flood is a chain of effects that ends in disease, malnutrition, and hunger.

The link is clear: damaged ecosystems = broken food systems = human suffering.

Nutrition, health, water, mobility—everything is connected. And the damage is already happening.

 5. [Fun] 🎮 When pixel worlds teach real-world impact.

I’ve never played Minecraft.

But I know it’s a huge thing—and now it’s also a sustainability learning tool.

Welcome to Sustainability City, a world inside Minecraft Education where kids can explore how food systems, water, waste, and clean energy work together.

They build rooftop gardens, improve infrastructure, manage resources—and learn how cities (and the climate) actually function.

It's gamified systems thinking. And honestly? I love it.

Because if we want the next generation to act on climate, maybe we should meet them where they’re already building.

Read more here.

Stay awesome,
Lia

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