PEGGY CHAN

FOUNDER, GRASSROOTS INITIATIVES; EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ZERO FOODPRINT ASIA

Food has always been the lens through which Peggy Chan has sought to change the world. Years on from the days when she ran Grassroots Pantry, a humble vegetarian restaurant in Sai Ying Pun and then Sheung Wan, Chan has hit the accelerator on her mission. Following the closure of her second restaurant, Nectar, in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, Chan went on to crowdfund and publish her first cookbook, to raise awareness of the plant-based movement as well as of Zero Foodprint Asia, the regional arm of an initiative that addresses the climate crisis through regenerative farming and renewable food systems.

“We strategise on how we can help the restaurant industry transition into more sustainable and accountable best practices, as well as how the food industry can participate in climate solutions with very little effort required,” explains Chan. One example is the per cent pledge, where an amount is added to each diner’s bill that will go towards the Zero Foodprint Restore Fund, which supports local farms approved by the board to aid in their transition towards regenerative practices.

“As much as small shifts towards plant-based dining and best practices such as recycling can help,” Chan says, “the crisis is now much larger than we are capable of addressing. That’s why systemic change needs to occur immediately.”