JUST IN: Earthshot prize’s request for a vegan menu for Prince William leaves a bitter taste in the Amazon

Saulo Jennings, an acclaimed Amazonian chef and UN gastronomy tourism ambassador, was reportedly outraged when organisers of Prince William’s Earthshot prize asked him to prepare an entirely vegan menu. For Jennings, being told to exclude pirarucu – the region’s iconic giant freshwater fish – was not merely a matter of preference but a lack of respect for his culinary traditions.

Prince William founded the Earthshot prize to celebrate innovative solutions to the planet’s greatest environmental challenges. This year’s ceremony takes place on November 5 at Rio de Janeiro’s futuristic Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow), marking the first time the Earthshot’s award ceremony will be held in Latin America. It will serve as the opening act for Cop30, which begins on November 10 in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon, emphasising the region’s central place in climate discussions.

Jennings had agreed to create a selection of canapes for the awards ceremony, which was when the misunderstanding arose. He designed a menu with a vegan option but was then told the whole selection must be vegan, meaning he couldn’t include any dishes featuring pirarucu. “It was like asking Iron Maiden to play jazz,” he told the New York Times. “It was a lack of respect for local cuisine, for our culinary tradition.”

At the museum’s urging, Jennings agreed to design an Amazonian-inspired vegan menu using native ingredients. But by then the deal had collapsed and another team was selected to feed the awards ceremony.

Instead, Jennings has been commissioned to cook for the Norwegian and Chinese delegations at Cop30, and will also oversee the food for the Cop banquet, prepared for the heads of state attending the conference. For these occasions, he will be able to highlight the Amazon’s diverse flavours and, he has respectfully assured, will be serving pirarucu.

By insisting on a vegan menu, the Earthshot prize effectively equated veganism with sustainability. But while the two concepts can overlap, they are not the same. Some vegan foods, such as avocados, have large carbon footprints.

This is just one example of how well-intentioned western environmental initiatives can unintentionally clash with the values and food practices of the communities they aim to celebrate.

Impositions on sustainable food practices
Western impositions on Indigenous food cultures stretch back to colonial times. Early European settlers viewed their own staple crops, such as wheat and barley, as symbols of civilisation. On the other hand, they often dismissed Indigenous foods like Andean grains such as quinoa and amaranth as “primitive”.

This legacy still shapes food hierarchies today. In Peru, for example, communities in the Andes are swapping traditional potatoes for pasta and rice.

Nowadays, consumers – both in Brazil and globally – play a role in reinforcing western ideas through their purchasing choices and perceptions of “authentic”, “exotic” or “healthy” foods that shape the exchange of foods across different countries and market segments, while distorting local economies and traditions.

In Belém, açaí berries are a staple of local culinary custom, traditionally consumed by residents with manioc flour and fish. But in other Brazilian regions – and increasingly internationally – they have become known as a trendy powdered or frozen “superfood”, or are blended into açaí bowls.

In postcolonial nations, local elites – typically composed of non-Indigenous people who have historically aligned themselves with western tastes and values – can sometimes both reinforce and challenge these inequalities

In Brazil’s culinary scene, elite chefs have taken the lead in defining a new national haute cuisine that elevates Amazonian ingredients through fine-dining techniques. For example, renowned Brazilian chef Alex Atala elevates pirarucu by reinterpreting the fish using innovative techniques and presentations at his Sao Paulo restaurant, D.O.M.

However, this can detach ingredients from their original uses and create pressures on producers to deliver more, which could lead to unsustainable practices. Therefore, Atala is also committed to advancing sustainability, research and cultural preservation through Instituto Ata, which aims to showcase the diversity both of Brazil’s culture and its environment.