Sorry, ice cream lovers: Rainn Wilson just told us climate change could ‘endanger’ the treat

“I knew I really had to do something.”

If you walked through Union Square Park yesterday, you would have spotted Rainn Wilson handing out ice cream to passersby – and the reason might surprise you.

Actor best known for his role in Office As Dwight Schrute, Wilson has made it clear over the years that he is a strong advocate for climate change awareness, such as when he briefly changed his name to “Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson.”

“I realized about 4 or 5 years ago that climate change is something I’m passionate about, as well as climate change education, but all I did was occasionally send angry tweets,” Wilson said in an interview with Eat well with Dr. Gail Whiteman before the New York event. “I knew I had to actually do something, get off my butt and not be a keyboard activist.”

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It was during this time that he was introduced to Whiteman and his nonprofit Arctic Base Camp. From there, Wilson joined him in the organization’s efforts to raise awareness and provide physical aid in the Arctic.

“We started doing all kinds of things together: we went to Greenland, we went to the World Economic Forum in Davos, we camped in tents, we transported an iceberg to COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland and “We bottled the water from the iceberg when the ice melted,” Wilson said. “We have hosted many online events, and as we move more toward unique climate advertising and activations, we founded this new organization, Climate Basecamp, as an offshoot of Arctic Basecamp.”

Wilson is now one of the founding faces – alongside Whiteman and TV comedy writer Chuck Tatham – of Climate Basecamp. As of yesterday, Climate Basecamp launched its mission: using food, entertainment, sports, fashion and music to draw attention to the issues of climate change.

So let’s go back: why hand out ice cream in town? Fittingly, at the start of Climate Week in New York, Wilson, Whiteman and Tatham focused on highlighting ice cream as a food that could be directly impacted by climate change.

“One of the things that scientists are talking about now is that we may have severe limitations on some of the flavors that we know, love and rely on, like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mango and pistachio. (and coffee). So it’s important to draw attention to that in a way that’s memorable and sticky…sticky in two ways!”

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“Scientists tend to say that climate change threats are ‘serious threats to food and water security,’ and that’s absolutely true, but that language isn’t compelling,” he further explained. Whiteman to Eat well. “It’s like, what does that mean in my daily life in the summer in Manhattan? Choosing such an iconic ice cream, everyday, who doesn’t like ice cream? It’s sweet, it’s something something we’ve been eating since we were kids. A lot of these ingredients are directly threatened by climate change in different ways.”

Titled Save the Flavors, Monday’s event in Union Square aimed to remind onlookers of the joy of ice cream while raising awareness of their “endangered” status.

“There is less water, or more water in some cases, this could be due to changes in pollinators, it could also be due to insects eating the plants, viruses or fungi, and of course extreme weather events,” Whiteman listed among the threats. Plant factors of origin of ice cream flavors. “All of these flavors are actually under threat.”

Although climate change is a wide-ranging issue, awareness and mindful eating are simple changes to make to your routine to help support Climate Basecamp’s mission, according to Whiteman and Wilson.

“I think eating well is eating mindfully, and unfortunately most of our culture eats carelessly and fast foods that have a negative impact on the climate,” Wilson said. “Anytime you can support local farmers, you can eat locally, you can eat consciously. Shop at farmers markets…I think that’s a great way to go. I think eating well actually goes a long way. along with climate activism.”

For more information about Climate Basecamp, check out their new website.

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Read the original article on Eating Well.