The Food and Land Use Coalition is a London-based coalition of left-of-center environmentalist organizations. Core member organizations of the coalition include the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation– and Rockefeller Foundation-funded nonprofit organization, and the World Resources Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing research and policy approaches on environmentalist issues around the world. ¹

The Food and Land Use Coalition receives funding from grants from governmental and private organizations including the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; the IKEA Foundation; and the Quadrature Climate Foundation. ²

Background

The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) is a coalition of left-of-center environmentalist organizations. The coalition was created in 2017 after individual members and organizations from the New Climate Economy and the Business and Sustainable Development Commission discussed the creation of a coalition focused on agriculture and environmentalism. ³

The initial secretariat of FOLU was formed at SYSTEMIQ, a German environmental organization that is also a founding partner of FOLU. Eight organizations joined the coalition as core partners in 2017 after FOLU was established, leading to FOLU platforms being created in Colombia, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, with its Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land Use, and Bio-Energy (FABLE) Consortium, became a partner of FOLU in 2017. The FABLE Consortium is a global initiative of FOLU. ^{4 5}

FOLU moved its global secretariat from SYSTEMIQ to the World Resources Institute in 2021. The World Resources Institute is a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing research and policy approaches on environmentalist issues around the world and is funded by grants from government agencies, private foundations, and corporations. ^{6 7}

The Food and Land Use Coalition, as of June 2023, had platforms in China, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, and Indonesia but was also in the process of establishing a platform in Kenya. FOLU notes that it also has affiliate platforms in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Nordic countries. ⁸

Political Activities

The Food and Land Use Coalition focuses on left-of-center solutions to problems involving agriculture and environmentalism. FOLU created the “Growing Better: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food and Land Use,” initiative, which states ten objectives the organization believes “could deliver the needed change to boost progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.” The ten objectives include “promoting healthy diets,” and “Improving gender equality and accelerating the demographic transition.” ⁹

One of the initiative’s “critical transitions” is “diversifying sources of protein.” The initiative states that over the next ten years “alternative proteins” should be produced more and replace meats. ¹⁰

FOLU states that “plant-based meat substitutes, proteins from insects, algae and worms, and proteins grown in the laboratory,” which it calls “clean meat,” could compete with beef and other meat on price, be better for human health and the environment, and could “reduce methane and carbon emissions.” ¹¹

Affiliated Organizations

The Food and Land Use Coalition is comprised of member organizations and core member organizations. Core members of the coalition include the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation– and Rockefeller Foundation-funded nonprofit organization; EAT; Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition; International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis; Sustainable Development Solutions Network; World Business Council for Sustainable Development; World Farmers’ Organisation; and the World Resources Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing research and policy approaches on environmentalist issues around the world. ¹²

The Food and Land Use Coalition is also a member of the Nature 4 Climate Initiative, a London-based program of the Nature Conservancy that collaborates with international left-of-center environmentalist groups and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote left-of-center environmental policies. ¹³

Funding

The Food and Land Use Coalition receives funding from grants from governmental and private organizations. The organization states that its core funding in 2022 came from Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV); Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), which is a founding member of FOLU and its primary donor; and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). ¹⁴

FOLU was also funded by organizations including the IKEA Foundation, a European philanthropic trust associated with the Swedish furniture company IKEA; the Meridian Institute, a nonprofit consultancy working on issues related to the environment and health care; and the Quadrature Climate Foundation, a London-based environmentalist grantmaking foundation. ¹⁵

1. “Collaborations.” Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use, and Ene. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://fableconsortium.org/about/collaborations/.
2. “Governance & funding.” Food and Land Use Coalition. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/governance-funding/.
3. “Our history.” Food and Land Use Coalition. September 12, 2021. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/our-history/
4. ^[1] “Our history.” Food and Land Use Coalition. September 12, 2021. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/our-history/.
5. “The FABLE Consortium.” Food and Land Use. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/fable/.
6. “Our history.” Food and Land Use Coalition. September 12, 2021. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/our-history/.
7. “WRI 2017 Funding Commitments.” World Resources Institute. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.wri.org/about/financials/wri-2017-funding-commitments.
8. “About FOLU.” Food and Land Use Coalition. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/about/.
9. “Global report.” Food and Land Use Coalition. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/global-report/.
10. “Critical Transition 5. Diversifying Sources of Protein.” Food and Land Use Coalition. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Critical-Transitions-5-Diversifying-Protein-Supply.pdf.
11. “Critical Transition 5. Diversifying Sources of Protein.” Food and Land Use Coalition. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Critical-Transitions-5-Diversifying-Protein-Supply.pdf.
12. “Collaborations.” Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-Use, and Ene. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://fableconsortium.org/about/collaborations/.
13. “About Us.” Nature 4 Climate. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://nature4climate.org/about/.
14. “Governance & funding.” Food and Land Use Coalition. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/governance-funding/.
15. “Governance & funding.” Food and Land Use Coalition. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/governance-funding/.