Daniel Humm is UNESCO’s 1st Ambassador for Food Education. But, the plant-based chef is not anti-meat, just pro-planet.
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He’s made headlines like “One of the World’s Best Chefs Swears by Algae Cooking Oil” championing plant-based cooking and his plant-based restaurant Eleven Madison Park is world-renowned for its illustrious use of vegetables. Now, Swiss Chef and plant-based food advocate Daniel Humm will be bring more attention to plants. On September 24th he was named UNESCO’s first Goodwill Ambassador for Food Education.
Surprisingly, Eleven Madison Park wasn’t always plant-based. It was only in 2021, that Daniel overhauled the menu after becoming aware of sustainable and unsustainable food systems such as overfishing and seeing the impact the Covid pandemic has on the rise of food insecurity in New York. Even with the disruption of his menu, he managed the impressive feat of maintaining the restaurant’s three Michelin stars rating. It was a first for a plant-based restaurant. Now, as UNESCO’s ambassador he’ll continue playing an active role in raising awareness about food and sustainability.
Food Education Ambassador
As a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Daniel Humm will focus on Food education and will be a voice for the organization’s global programs on environmental and health education. He’ll also amplify and promote UNESCO sites and programs that include safeguarding cultural practices, biosphere reserves and more to ensure the protection of natural heritages and biodiversity in the face of climate disruption.
How Plant-Based Treaty Is Getting Cities To Eat More Veggies
In June of this year, Daniel already stepped into his role, visiting the biosphere Reserve “Champlain-Adirondack” in Vermont, where several initiatives have been established to sensitize local youth to the creation of sustainable nutrition systems. He also plays a pivotal role in in the development of the new UNESCO International Food Atlas, a project that will raise aware of and safeguard hundreds of culinary traditions and foodways inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
“Daniel Humm is much more than one of the world’s most gifted chefs. He is a passionate advocate for sustainable nutrition, who has staked his career on his beliefs, defying the skeptics, and proving to us all that the finest cuisine can be an ally in protecting our precious planet,” said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General. “A luminary in the culinary community, there is no one better placed to promote the powerful connections between food and education.”
“Not Anti-Meat But Pro-Planet”
The sous chef kitchen at Eleven Park is stocked with farm-fresh greens and other locally sourced produce.
Growing up in Switzerland, a country that is already miles ahead of the U.S. in terms of culture and environmental policies, Daniel had sustainability ingrained into his everyday lifestyle. This background laid the foundation for his transition to restructuring Eleven Madison Park into a plant-based restaurant, from foie gras to mushrooms. Favoring the term plant-based over vegan, Daniel advocates about eating sustainably to protect the planet, more than anything else.
“I am deeply honored to join UNESCO as Goodwill Ambassador,” explained Chef Daniel Humm. “The language of food is so powerful, and together, we will work to demonstrate how choices around food can create solutions and empower future generations, as well as to bring further awareness to indigenous culinary traditions and their critical role in sustainability and food equity.”