GoodSam snacks business founder, Heather K. Terry set to participate at COP28
Heather K Terry, founder of GoodSam snacks, is set to participate at COP28 this week. Pic GoodSam
Founder and CEO of ethical US-based snacks business, GoodSAM, Heather K. Terry (pictured) is set to participating at this year’s COP28 event in Dubai, examining climate change and sustainability in food chains, reports Neill Barston.
Significant media attention has already been placed on the event’s opening sessions, which has seen a landmark move with more than 130 countries signing of the Emirates Leaders Declaration on sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems and climate action, which is a first of its kind in recognising the importance of how feeding the world’s populations impacts on climate change.
For her part Heather K Terry is passionate about creating food systems which benefits everyone and everything involved, which led to the creation of her business, which is now certified as a B-Corp, environmentally responsible enterprise, which it gained last year.
It has also gained an Anthem Award, for their ongoing dedication to sustainability and combating climate issues, which will be on the agenda as she participates in a panel on 6 December titled “Regenerative Food Systems” in the Innovation Zone. It is open to all COP28 attendees and registration is required.
Speaking to Confectionery Production ahead of the meeting, Heather said: “With an unwavering commitment to regenerative agriculture, transparent supply networks, and reforming the food industry at the root of everything GoodSAM does, it is important for small and medium sized private enterprises to attend events like COP28 where big conversations are happening, and decisions are being made.
We are excited to attend the event for the first time as it is imperative, and an urgent demand, that we create regenerative food systems through innovative approaches to business globally which will benefit everyone and especially our efforts for the future of the planet. At the event, we will be discussing new approaches to regenerative food systems that involve both soil health and new business models and the effects of methane gas emissions as it relates to regenerative agriculture.”
Historic declaration
As industry observers have noted, the joint declaration on sustainable agriculture has been widely welcomed in principle, it will require further legal frameworks to underpin its sentiments of recognising the importance of best farming practices that support communities and the environment.
The declaration stated that: “We, heads of state and government recognise that unprecedented adverse climate impacts are increasingly threatening the resilience of agriculture and food systems as well as the ability of many, especially the most vulnerable, to produce and access food in the face of mounting hunger, malnutrition, and
economic stresses;
“Recognising the profound potential of agriculture and food systems to drive powerful and innovative responses to climate change and to unlock shared prosperity for all; Underscoring the need to progressively realise the right to adequate food in the context of national food security as well as the need to ensure access to safe, sufficient, affordable, and
nutritious food for all.
“Noting that agriculture and food systems are fundamental to the lives and livelihoods of billions of people, including smallholders, family farmers, fisherfolk and other producers and food
workers; Noting the essential role of international and multi-stakeholder cooperation, including SouthSouth and Triangular cooperation, financial and funding institutions, trade, and non-state actors in responding to climate change”
The declaration also stated that the governments heads reaffirmed commitments, collective and individual, to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity among other key policy developments on the environment.
