Climate change has been driven by human behavior. That’s why long-term success in halting it must involve large-scale changes in how we live.

Most of the behaviors we associate with preventing climate change are totally inaccessible to younger children. They can’t buy electric cars or redirect their retirement accounts away from fossil fuels.

They can’t even vote.

Limiting our kids by only offering them these types of solutions can leave them with a sense of powerlessness and futility. But there is a solution within their power, and that’s taking control of how and what they eat.

Making the connection between food and climate change could reap huge benefits for our children — and for all of us. As more states and cities officially integrate climate change education into their school curricula, we urge them to include discussion of food systems and personal eating habits as essential parts of the climate story.

The role of food systems in climate change is often ignored, as discussions tend to focus on energy production (wind turbines) and transportation (electric cars).

Yet food is a huge part of our global economy and must also be a huge part of any potential climate solution. Food waste in particular is an area of massive concern: The energy that goes into producing food that is wasted is the equivalent of 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. By comparison, all air travel and transport globally added a little over 1 billion tons of CO2 at its 2019 pre-pandemic peak.

Thus, encouraging more plant-based (and less-processed) foods and reducing food waste are two of the most effective approaches we have for addressing climate change, according to Project Drawdown, one of the most comprehensive studies on potential climate solutions. Combined, they could reduce greenhouse gas emissions almost 22 times more than the switch to electric cars.

Involving children in this discussion could be an important part of building a sustainable future, especially as more states and cities officially integrate climate change into their teaching, as New Jersey has. Food is far more tangible to children than discussions of better building insulation or renewable power generation, which are both invisible on a daily basis and entirely outside a child’s control.

Read the full article about climate education by Sara Elnakib nad Jennifer Shukaitis at The Hechinger Report.