Series note: The following article is part of Rare’s Rethinking Conservation series, highlighting people-centered solutions to the biodiversity and climate crises. Ahead of Climate Week NYC, Rare President Caleb McClennen, Ph.D., interviews Sarah Lake, CEO of Tilt Collective, on building plant-rich food environments — and the big, practical solutions we’re leaving on the table for frontline communities facing climate change’s increasing impacts.
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As Rare refines its 2030 strategy, I’m asking climate leaders the same three questions: Where are the big climate wins that also improve daily life? Sarah’s response is below. What follows are her words, verbatim. After each answer, I respond briefly to connect the dots.
Caleb: Sarah, thanks for joining me. You work closely with partners, shaping food environments. As we head into Climate Week, I want to start big. Where do you see the greatest untapped opportunity for culturally-grounded, community-led action to drive climate or conservation breakthroughs — and what’s getting in the way?
Sarah: It couldn’t be clearer to me that working on sustainable and healthy food is one of the most important — yet untapped — climate and conservation opportunities. We know that locally-rooted, culturally appropriate changes to our food system are essential to addressing climate change. In particular, advancing a plant-rich food system — where plant-rich options are affordable, accessible, and mainstreamed — offers one of the biggest levers to reduce emissions and conserve land to restore it to nature. And the benefits extend far beyond climate and conservation. A plant-rich food system is essential to food security, reducing preventable disease, and improving water availability.
Yet the climate movement to date has failed to embrace food — and plant-rich diets — as a leading climate solution. Despite the overwhelming science revealing the importance of plant-rich diets, many have been afraid to talk about changing what food the world eats since food is both politically and culturally sensitive. While food is a sensitive topic, we know that the current system isn’t working. We have rising levels of food insecurity, obesity, disease, and malnutrition globally. At the same time, farmers are making less money year on year, while farms are being consolidated into the hands of fewer owners.
So yes, food is a tricky topic to discuss, but change is essential, and there are ways to approach shifting what food we produce and consume without it being about telling people to eat differently. Ultimately, we need to change what foods are offered and incentivized, not try to convince people to choose different foods. Decades of work show that pleading with consumers to choose differently doesn’t work. But when we have companies and governments making healthy and sustainable food the affordable, easy, and desirable option, we can catalyze enormous progress towards plant-rich options, unlocking untapped climate, health, and nature benefits.
“Ultimately, we need to change what foods are offered and incentivized, not try to convince people to choose different foods.” — Sarah Lake.
Caleb: Powerful points, Sarah. For an issue so connected to people’s lives, it’s striking how low food has been on the climate solutions agenda. I’m excited to see your leadership shifting that narrative inside the climate movement and beyond.
Caleb: If you could move $100 million in climate funding tomorrow, where would you put it, and why?
Sarah: I’m lucky enough to have a job where I think about how to spend $100 million in climate funding all the time. At Tilt, our strategy prioritizes the areas of investment where we know we will see the biggest impact on climate mitigation, while also advancing other social, environmental, and nature benefits — and that is plant-rich food systems. Research conducted in 2024 on the investment opportunity in food systems supports our approach, showing that every dollar invested in shifting towards a plant-rich food system delivers more than 5 times the emissions mitigation than the same amount invested in renewable energy. While renewable energy is still irrefutably important, the research highlights the untapped opportunity and lack of investment to date in plant-rich food systems.
If that’s not reason enough, I would also invest $100 million in plant-rich food systems because of the additional investment it stands to unlock. The same research shows that every dollar from philanthropy invested in plant-rich food systems has the potential to unlock $15 in private and public capital — more than in many other fields. That means my $100 million funding would unlock over a billion dollars in investment.
But at the heart of my answer is not climate mitigation or additional investment; it’s how plant-rich food systems sit at the heart of so many solutions. Funding for plant-rich food systems is never about just climate — it advances food security by using land more efficiently, ensures more fresh water availability by using less water, saves healthcare costs by avoiding preventable disease, and so on. While no silver bullets exist for the interlocking crises we face, plant-rich food systems have come pretty close.
Caleb: The multiple benefits of plant-rich food systems are so compelling — especially on the health side, where there’s such great alignment between groups like the American Heart Association (who would like to see diet shifts) and the climate movement. Your cost comparison to renewables, and the catalytic role of philanthropy in plant-rich food systems, makes a clear and investable case.
Caleb: What emerging idea, movement, or actor gives you the most hope for climate action today?
Sarah: The idea that gives me the most hope for climate action today is the growing recognition that we can’t win on climate by only talking about climate. As climate action is increasingly politicized, we’re seeing success on climate solutions framed around health, water, or food security. For those of us deeply embedded in the climate movement, it can be hard to come to terms with the fact that most people — especially most decision-makers — do not prioritize climate change. For decades, we have leaned in to try to convince decision-makers that climate change is important. But when we can also advocate for climate solutions through a different lens, one that is more politically appealing, we can secure major policy wins or drive unprecedented private sector action on climate.
For example, some of the most ambitious progress we’re seeing in food systems is from the growing attention on health and food security. Consumers are demanding healthier foods, so grocery stores are offering healthier, plant-rich options. Or, countries want to ensure stable food supplies and so are looking to diversify protein production within their borders by incentivizing more plant-rich crops. Although motivated by health or food security, these changes have enormous benefits for the climate.
Moving forward, I’m optimistic we can continue to be smart about understanding what issues most resonate with decision-makers or the public and use these framings to build support for unprecedented climate action.
“We can’t win on climate by only talking about climate.” — Sarah Lake.
Caleb: I love this concept. It’s so often repeated in the sustainability space but not frequently realized. Given the cultural connections to food you point out in your first answer, there can be no path to progress here that relies solely on a climate message. Leading with health, water, and food security builds broader coalitions and, importantly, durability for our planet’s most pressing issues.
I appreciate that your case isn’t just about telling people what to eat; it’s about redesigning the food environment. Shift public and private procurement, pricing, and placement so plant-rich options are the default in schools, hospitals, workplaces, and retail. Reward growers who supply those foods and measure the wins people feel — lower household costs, better health, and less water stress — alongside emissions. As an organization committed to narrative shift, we’re increasingly testing what messages do in fact resonate, with whom, and how. Our broader cultural narratives are part of the system in which we all make decisions. I’m keen to explore further how the narrative on plant-rich food is accelerating and supporting the change you seek to create through Tilt.
Follow Caleb McClennen on LinkedIn for more insights into Rethinking Conservation.
Visit tiltcollective.org to learn more about the work of Tilt Collective.