By Linda Koh
Since elementary school, I have been fascinated by plants, food, and plant-based food. When I was in third grade, I became vegetarian and even sent money to help “Save the Rainforest” by “buying” an acre. Currently, I work as an Assistant Professor of Nursing and am a Public Health Nurse. My research focuses on sustainable plant-based nutrition interventions for health promotion and chronic disease prevention through community-based teaching kitchens and farm-to-school programs. For example, I am part of a team of researchers, educators, and volunteers who implement an annual summer Farm to Table Camp with the aim of studying interventions to increase vegetable and fruit intake among school aged children. Interventions include nutrition education, hands-on farm experience, and recipe/cooking instruction.
This past November, I had the honor of being invited by the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments as an observer delegate to the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP30) in Belém, Brazil. Belém is known as the “gateway to the Amazon” and I felt as if I had been waiting for this moment all my life.This annual conference brought 60,000 delegates, including government officials, observers, media, and lobbyists, together to discuss climate change.
COP30 provided multiple opportunities and sessions to meet others doing the work. November 19th and 20th of the two week conference included sessions specifically dedicated to nutrition and sustainable food systems, covering agriculture, food systems and food security, fisheries, and family farming. I attended sessions ranging from Seaweed and Aquatic Foods: Blue Solutions for Climate Resilience to Women: Voices that Guide the Future. A recurring theme shared by several presenters was the innovation, collaboration, and resilience of local communities made up of individuals each doing their part, working together, for the common good. I witnessed this first-hand in my interactions with people from local communities in the Amazon – learning about how they use their resources in sustainable ways, the innovative tools used, and the harvesting-transporting-processing of thousands of pounds of açai fruit without refrigeration, every night, in a matter of hours.
Nurses attending international negotiations such as COP30 have the potential to bring awareness while also helping to prioritize safeguarding human and planetary health. Whether or not we agree on the solutions to address climate change, the reality is that it is here and impacting daily lives and the food system. However, by collaborating with others, we still have time to make a difference. Learn more here about some of the actions you can take right now to help promote more sustainable food systems.
About the author: Linda Koh is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing. She completed her MS in Administration with a concentration in Public Health at Andrews University, PhD in Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the Stanford Prevention Research Center. Her research focuses on sustainable plant-based nutrition interventions for health promotion and chronic disease prevention through community-based teaching kitchens and farm-to-school programs.
