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When Sustainability Clashes with Tradition at the Earthshot Prize

In the heart of the Amazon rainforest, where rivers snake like vital veins and the forest whispers ancestral secrets, cooking is not just an act of nutrition, but a ritual of connection with the land. Here, ingredients are not chosen based on global trends, but by what nature offers in its eternal cycle: one day açaí collected at dawn, the next pirarucú fished with nets woven by indigenous hands. This philosophy, rooted in communities that have sustained ecological balance for millennia, was recently challenged in an unexpected setting: the banquet of the Earthshot Prize 2025, an event that celebrates environmental innovation under the aegis of Prince William. Chef Saulo Jennings, UN ambassador for gastronomic tourism and guardian of Amazonian flavors, rejected the invitation to cook in Rio de Janeiro. The reason: an inflexible demand for a 100% vegan menu that excluded the iconic pirarucú fish, a symbol of ecological recovery in the region. "It's like asking Iron Maiden to play jazz," Jennings declared, encapsulating in a rock metaphor the absurdity of imposing a diet alien to the cultural and sustainable identity of the Amazon. The incident, reported by The New York Times on October 25, 2025, is not just a culinary anecdote; it is a mirror of the tensions between global visions of sustainability and local practices that have preserved Amazonian biodiversity for generations. Founded in 2020 by Prince William and naturalist David Attenborough, the Earthshot Prize awards innovative solutions in five categories aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals: nature restoration, clean air, ocean revival, waste-free life, and climate action. With a fund of 50 million pounds sterling for the decade, the prize seeks to catalyze urgent changes, and its events, such as the ceremony at the Museu do Amanhã in Rio on November 5, 2025, incorporate "green" practices like vegetarian or vegan menus to minimize the carbon footprint. However, for Jennings, this policy did not honor the Amazon, but caricatured it, ignoring that true sustainability lies in the responsible use of local resources, not in their arbitrary exclusion. Saulo Jennings, 47 years old, is no ordinary chef. Born in Belém, Pará, he grew up amid the aromas of the jungle: the earthy sweetness of cupuaçu, the numbing spiciness of jambu, and the robust flavor of smoked pirarucú. His restaurant, Casa do Saulo, in Quinta de Pedras, is a living manifesto of Amazonian cuisine: dishes that fuse indigenous techniques with modern touches, always prioritizing local and sustainable suppliers. Appointed UN gastronomic ambassador in 2024, Jennings has cooked for presidents, diplomats, and celebrities like Mariah Carey, but his mission transcends fame. "Amazonian food is a political act of conservation," he states in an interview with La Nación. For him, the Amazon is not an "exotic" buffet for tourists, but an ecosystem where humans, flora, and fauna coexist in a delicate balance. His dishes, like pirarucú in tucupi—a yellow broth of wild yuca with local herbs—not only delight the palate, but narrate stories of resistance: how riverine communities have revived species on the brink of extinction through regulated fishing and crop rotation. The pirarucú (Arapaima gigas), that river colossus that can reach three meters in length and 200 kilos, is the epicenter of this controversy. Known as "codex" by the indigenous people, its firm and nutritious meat has been a pillar of the Amazonian diet since pre-Columbian times. In the 70s and 80s, overfishing brought it to the brink of collapse, but community programs, such as those led by the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, brought it back. Today, its fishing is seasonal and controlled, generating income for thousands of families without deforesting or polluting. "The pirarucú is not a luxury; it is survival," explains Jennings. "Sustainable because you eat what the river gives, not what a supermarket imposes". Excluding it from an Amazonian menu, he argues, is equivalent to denying the science and indigenous tradition that have kept the forest standing. Amazonian chef Saulo Jennings refused to cook at the 2025 Earthshot Prize because they demanded a 100% vegan menu that excluded pirarucu, an iconic and sustainable fish from the Amazon. “It’s like asking Iron Maiden to play jazz,” he compared. Amazonian cuisine, in essence, is a tapestry of biodiversity. Its pillars include yuca (manioc), a versatile base that transforms into farinha, beiju, or tacacá—a thick soup with dried shrimp and jambu that numbs the mouth like an electric kiss. Fruits like açaí, graviola, and bacuri provide freshness and antioxidants, while Brazil nuts and guaraná seeds energize. Influenced by indigenous, African, and European elements, this gastronomy prioritizes seasonality: in times of fruit abundance, it is harvested; in droughts, fishing or hunting is done in moderation. Emblematic dishes like maniçoba—yuca leaves cooked for seven days with wild pork—or pato no tucupi illustrate this harmony. "It is food of memory and resistance," says indigenous chef Tainá Marajoara, who, like Jennings, criticizes the "colonizing" vision of some global approaches. At COP30, in Belém on November 10, 2025, Jennings will cook for Norwegian and Chinese delegations, including pirarucú, demonstrating that the Amazon can be sustainable without renouncing its soul. The Earthshot Prize, for its part, defends its stance with irrefutable arguments for emissions reduction. Previous events, like the one in London 2021, eliminated single-use plastics, used LED lighting, and local vegetarian menus, achieving a carbon footprint 98% lower than projected. The 2025 ceremony in Rio, with 700 guests, seeks the same: a vegan banquet rooted in cassava, jambu, and Brazil nuts, now in charge of chef Tati Lund from .Org Bistrô, who emphasizes organic and seasonal ingredients. Sources close to the event clarify that the decision was due to budget, not ideological rigidity, and that Prince William did not intervene directly. Even so, veganism as a proxy for sustainability generates debate. Activists like Genesis Butler have called for specific categories for plant-based food systems, arguing that animal diets contribute to 14.5% of global emissions. But in contexts like the Amazon, where extensive livestock farming is the true predator—deforesting 20% of the jungle in 50 years—imposing veganism ignores local solutions like agroforestry and regenerative fishing. This clash reveals a wider gap: Western "salvationism" versus autochthonous wisdom. On networks like X (formerly Twitter), the topic exploded. Users like @WilshawElise tweeted: "OLHA A TRETA: The Paraense chef rejected the invitation because he couldn't use key Amazonian ingredients," accumulating thousands of interactions. Posts in German and Italian, like those from @tschooo and @VanityFairIt, framed it as "lack of respect" for local traditions. Experts like those from The Conversation warn: "Equating veganism with sustainability can undermine indigenous practices that emphasize ecological harmony". In the Amazon, where 80% of deforestation is due to soy and meat for export, not traditional fishing, Jennings' criticism resonates as a call for inclusion. Implications beyond the plate are profound. This incident precedes COP30, where leaders will discuss climate financing for the Amazon, which loses 10,000 km² annually. Jennings, now at the forefront of the heads of state banquet in Belém, will use the platform to advocate for "contextual sustainability": menus that integrate plants and regulated animal proteins, reducing high-impact imports. "I don't criticize vegans; I criticize the uniformity that erases cultures," he nuances. His rejection was not a whim, but a defense of a paradigm where food is a bridge, not a barrier, to conservation. Ultimately, the Jennings case invites reflection: can global sustainability be truly inclusive without listening to the guardians of the land? While the Earthshot Prize illuminates innovations in Rio, the pirarucú continues swimming in the Amazonian rivers, reminding us that respect begins on the plate. The Amazon does not need to be "saved" with imported menus; it needs to be honored with its own. As Jennings says: "We eat what the forest and rivers give. That is real sustainability".

By Jazmin Agudelo for Ruta Pantera on 11/5/2025 7:29:04 AM

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