As global demand for protein rises and food systems face increasing environmental strain, a critical question emerges:
How do we ensure equitable access to adequate protein while operating within planetary limits?
Join Food Systems for the Future and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) for a global Earth Day dialogue bringing together leaders across policy, science, philanthropy, and industry.
Together, we will explore practical pathways forward, connecting perspectives across animal and complimentary protein systems.
📅 April 22, 2026
⏰ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CST
🌐 Virtual Convening
Meet Our Panelists
-
Brent is the Global Food Lead Scientist for WWF. His work focuses on using food as a lever for improving human health and environmental sustainability. He has made significant contributions in various fields that include helping to lead the landmark EAT-Lancet report, rediscovering lost species, and protecting some of the most biologically important places on the planet. His current work focuses on amplifying and accelerating action on food system transformation by identifying high-impact, place-based solutions for countries, businesses, and practitioners. -
Bruce Friedrich is founder & president of the Good Food Institute, a global science nonprofit with affiliates in the US, India, Israel, Brazil, APAC, and Europe. Climate charity evaluator Giving Green has selected GFI as a top climate charity for impact every year for the past five years. Nature featured Bruce’s new book Meat as one of its five "best science picks,” and Publishers Weekly included Meat on its list of the 10 best new releases in science, writing: “This packed account makes food science feel like an urgent and essential undertaking.” The book is also endorsed by Nobel Laureate in economics Michael Kremer, primatologist Jane Goodall, former UNFCCC head Christiana Figueres, The Ministry for the Future author Kim Stanley Robinson, and more. See MeatBook.org.
-
Eric Mittenthal is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Meat Institute, previously serving as the organization’s vice president of public affairs and vice president of sustainability. He leads the Meat Institute’s Protein PACT strategy focused on implementing a framework for continuous improvement throughout the industry and a commitment to greater transparency to meet consumer and customer expectations.
Mittenthal joined Meat Institute from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) where he worked closely with food industry communications leaders, led IFIC’s efforts in connecting with journalists and influencers and launched many of IFIC’s successful social media platforms. Mittenthal moved to Washington D.C. following a career as a television reporter and producer in several markets around the country including Atlanta, Jacksonville, NC and Idaho Falls, ID. He graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and also received a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA.
-
Ertharin Cousin is the Managing Director and CEO of FSF Ventures and Food Systems for the Future Institute. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. From 2012 to 2017, she led the UN World Food Programme, providing food assistance to over 80 million people annually. Cousin served as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2009 to 2012. She has held leadership roles at Feeding America and in corporate retail. Cousin is on several boards and has been recognized on multiple influential lists.
-
Lasse Bruun is a food systems and climate expert, and a recognized thought leader on protein diversification and social justice. With over 20 years of experience spanning leadership, policy, advocacy, and collective impact, he brings deep expertise in governance, with extensive trustee and board-level roles across international institutions. He currently serves as Director for Climate and Food at the UN Foundation and as a Senior Advisor to the FAO.
With a background in rhetoric and political science, Lasse has convened high-level international dialogues and led campaigns in more than 20 countries, fostering exchange across sectors, movements, and decision-makers. In 2021, he was appointed Global Civil Society Lead on sustainable consumption for the UN Food Systems Summit and co-led the Summit’s work on food systems management. Outside his professional work, Lasse runs a small agroecological vegetable farm.
-
Shirley Tarawali is Assistant Director General at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, Kenya) a CGIAR centre. Shirley’s portfolio includes representation, engagement within ILRI and beyond to support sustainable livestock contributions to the wider development agenda. She coordinated ILRI’s strategy process and led the inception and growth of ILRI’s portfolio on sustainable livestock advocacy and communications. Shirley has over 40 years’ experience implementing and leading livestock research for development, including in senior leadership, and has authored or contributed to over 100 publications.
-
Sira Secka, a native of The Gambia, is an accomplished educator and nonprofit leader and the founder of the ENENNFOOF Excellence Foundation, dedicated to advancing inclusive, sustainable, and climate-responsive Education and Agriculture. After completing her initial teacher training in The Gambia and pursuing advanced studies in the United States, she served as a special education teacher in Seattle, Washington, where she developed a strong commitment to promoting inclusive education practices in her home country. She has since contributed across the nonprofit, education, and agricultural sectors in The Gambia, including founding SEAGULL VENTURES FARMS, and currently serves as a Guidance and Counselling Specialist at the University of Education, The Gambia, while also holding the role of The Gambia’s Lead Negotiator for Agriculture and Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE).