COP26 menu to focus on plant-based dishes to help attendees make climate-friendly choices

The UK government on Saturday, October 23, announced that plant-based dishes will dominate the menu at the upcoming COP26 climate conference. According to a press release, the UK Cabinet Office informed that the COP26 delegates will be served sustainable, locally sourced food at the summit in Glasgow. It said that overall, 95% of the food will be from the United Kingdom, largely sourced from Scotland, and will be seasonal. 

As per the press release, each menu item has an estimate of its carbon footprint, “helping attendees make climate-friendly choices”. “This will put sustainability at the heart of catering for the summit, reducing emissions and promoting environment-friendly food production,” the UK Cabinet office said. It added that the upcoming climate summit will set an example for other large-scale international events, in terms of food sourcing, by taking a number of measures to ensure a sustainable approach. 

COP26 UK President-Designate Alok Sharma said, “It is exciting to see such innovation in the menus that will be on offer and to understand the thought and effort that has gone into making dishes both healthy, sustainable and suitable for different diets and requirements.”

He added, “We very much look forward to giving our international visitors a flavour of the wide-ranging cuisine the UK has to offer.”

According to the press note, the delegates will be served dishes such as potato, leek and rosemary chowder, smoked salmon and a spiced mushroom and onion burger served with a vegan tomato mayo, slaw and shoots. Caterers will be using sustainable suppliers including Edinburgh’s Mara Seaweed, which is abundant, entirely sustainable and does not require fertiliser, freshwater or soil to grow. They will also use carrots and potatoes from Benzies, which uses wind turbines to power their cool storage, biomass to provide heating and recycles the water used. Moreover, hot drinks will be served in reusable cups that can be washed up to 1,000 times, which organisers say will save 2,50,000 single-use cups. 

COP26 Climate Summit 

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference, hosted by the UK in partnership with Italy, will take place from October 31 to November 12, 2021, in the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, UK. Besides PM Modi, the Summit will have in attendance the President of the United States Joe Biden, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, France President Emmanuel Macron among others. The world leaders at the summit are going to discuss the various ways to collaborate and tackle the pressing issue of climate change. 

Image: Unsplash, Gov.UK