Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Felipe de Carvalho
October 23, 2025 Culture and education
Professional chef and indigenous rights advocate Taina Marajoara will lead the kitchen at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. In an interview with the UN News Service, she explained that over 10 tons of organic food produced within fair food systems will be purchased for the summit.
Taina Marajoara, founder of the cultural and gastronomic collective Ponto de Cultura Alimentar Iacitatá, was chosen to serve the kitchen serving all conference participants. According to her, heads of state and government, ministers, and other forum participants will be offered food that "does not poison, does not pollute, and does not kill—either through disease or conflict."
"We'll serve canapira, a Marajoaran dish still made in my native families, and not just in indigenous communities," explains Taina. "After much debate, we agreed on a lot of acai. We'll serve manisoba, a traditional dish from the state of Pará. It's also an indigenous food. It's made from cassava leaves boiled for seven days with pork. There will be plenty of tucupi, jambu, and chili peppers. We'll serve tacacá, fish in tucupi, and piraruca. We plan to buy at least two tons of this fish."
© Agência Brasil/M. Camargo
Gastronomic message
"We want to show that living in peace is possible. We must live in peace," says Taina, speaking about the heritage of indigenous peoples. "COP30 will provide space for our ancestral diplomacy. We will make it clear that the connection between the lives of indigenous peoples and local communities and food sovereignty must be recognized. As long as ancestral lands continue to be exploited, and violence spreads across fields, waters, forests, deserts, and glaciers, we are being killed—and our cultures too."
Climate Justice Kitchen
Taina gave an interview to the UN News Service while in Rome, where she is participating in the World Food Forum, held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Photo by UN News Service
Taina says indigenous food systems are closely linked to traditional knowledge and spirituality, and she laments that this wisdom is often ignored or simply erased from generations' memories. For her, gastronomic magic is part of the "cultural diplomacy of our ancestors." She hopes this initiative will serve as a model for future international conferences.
"We will have a kitchen based on climate justice. This is the first UN Climate Change Conference with a kitchen run by community and family farmers, and that's very important," says Taina. "But it shouldn't begin or end at COP30. We want this to become a historic milestone and spread around the world, so that our example is applied at other UN meetings."
The key to climate protection
Taina emphasizes that food sovereignty is inseparable from indigenous self-determination and environmental protection. She hopes that the climate forum in Brazil will help advance the principle of legitimate recognition of indigenous peoples' traditional territories as a key element of global climate policy.
Taina believes the world is "in a state of collapse" and that there's no more time for endless negotiations. "Protecting the territories of indigenous peoples and local communities," she says, "is the real way to save our planet's climate."
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