Former White House Chef Sam Kass: How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis

The things we love to eat, we won't be able to be eating soon. What's really at stake is our way of life, our ability to pass down to the next generation, the delicious lives we have and try to improve on that. Obviously there's a ton of problems in our system that we must improve, but even our ability to make any kind of change is under real threat because of climate. And nobody is really talking about those connections to the extent that I think matches the challenges. that we face.

It's not about our kids and grandkids. This is happening right now. Sam Cass served as a senior policy advisor for nutrition in the Obama White House and he was the executive director of Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative. He's a University of Chicago graduate. He's trained under the Austrian chef Christian Domschitz.

He now invests in food technology startups and is the author of The Last Supper, How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis. I don't think most people realize the degree to which the agricultural system is contributing to climate change and particularly the loss of soil. It's estimated that our food systems contribute to 34% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. We have not done anywhere near what is needed to prepare our system from an adaptation and resilience standpoint to ensure we're going to be able to produce food in this very volatile climate.

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