As world leaders convene on climate change at COP26, this snack brand is acting now

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As world leaders convene on climate change at COP26, this snack brand is acting now

9 Nov 2021

Liz Goodwin

Liz Goodwin is a Texas-born journalist and photographer. Although a Southerner at heart, she fell in love with the Midwest at the University of Missouri where she earned her bachelor's of journalism. When she’s not writing or behind a camera, she loves to cook, find new restaurants, and spend time outside. Her favorite baked goods include croissants and crackers, especially when topped with fig jam and brie.

ST. LOUIS — As world leaders convene in Glasgow to accelerate climate action at COP26, one snack brand is acting now: one “oat cloud” at a time.

Airly Foods, a sustainable snack brand that produces sweet and savory crackers made from oats, is determined to create a business model that puts change in the hands of shoppers. Airly’s cracker-esque Oat Clouds focus on affordability, convenience and flavor without compromise, all while removing greenhouse gases from the air.

“We’re empowering the consumer to vote with their dollars to act on climate change now,” said Jennifer McKnight, Airly co-founder and chief marketing officer. “While Airly is new to the scene, it’s already making big moves and major milestones across the food industry with the launch of its Airly Oat Clouds, as the first-ever climate-friendly snack designed to remove greenhouse gases from the air.”

The science behind Airly’s climate-friendly snacks lies in carbon farming, a set of farming practices that results in increased storage or atmospheric carbon in the soil. This type of farming is particularly common on organic farms and in regenerative agriculture. As the oats used in the Airly crackers are grown, they remove carbon dioxide — the most prevalent greenhouse gas — from the air.

Dr. Mark Izzo, chief innovation officer at Airly Foods, says that while the progress at COP26 is significant and the pledges made will be beneficial for the planet, immediate action is imperative as climate change worsens, a big part of the Airly mission.

“It’s important to note that while these long-term government climate goals are admirable, we can take immediate action by creating innovative solutions,” he said. “And since more than 25% of greenhouse gases come from the global food supply, it’s no wonder why so many groundbreaking solutions are emerging within our food system right now.”

The company is also making the additional investment to measure and completely offset all its non-farm greenhouse gas emissions through a combination of forestry and agricultural carbon removal projects. Dr. Izzo hopes that if solutions like Airly can gain traction, the world will start to see an accelerating shift of the food system toward carbon drawdown rather than just emitting less.

“Here at Airly, we believe the time to act is now. We don’t need to wait decades for the progress to happen with carbon reduction goals set for 2030 or 2040,” McKnight said. “Airly hopes to inspire everyone to rethink food and its potential to help tackle climate change.”

Each box of Airly Oat Clouds removes 18-21 grams of carbon dioxide from the air, and the products are available for purchase on the brand’s website and at retailers such as Schnucks, Central Market and Amazon, with plans to break into more nationwide retailers throughout 2021 and 2022.

Read more about how Airly makes their change-focused crackers in the Q3 issue of Commercial Baking.

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