I have very, very good news today.

Last month, in honor of Earth Day, I launched 1 Million Tables for the Planet with my colleague, Debra Alexander. The campaign’s ask is refreshingly simple: gather around a table, and enjoy a single plant-based meal with people who matter to you. Why Earth Day? Because plant-based food is climate-friendly food.

The Good News: In just one month, about 3,000 people registered, gathering over 25,000 people around their tables. We reached 170+ countries! These numbers, combined with the emails and photos people sent us from around the world, inspired us to keep the momentum going, and continue inviting people to add tables and gather over climate-friendly food all yearlong.

The most exciting part: While one meal may not seem like much, together we’ve made a real impact. In a single month, this worldwide community, which came together out of love for the planet, has prevented 33.5 metric tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere — equivalent to 34,000 miles not driven in a gas-powered car, or enough electricity to power six U.S. homes for an entire year.

We’ve also saved enough water for 37,000 showers — the amount one person would use showering every single day from birth to age 101. No legislation or politicians needed.

Click here to see photos of participants from around the world,

Click here to join our worldwide movement, and to see the big, beautiful map of where everyone lives.

If you are the 3,000th person to register, I’ll send you a gift of my favorite cookbook.

Who’s joined our growing worldwide table?

  • A family in Nuuk, Greenland (I love telling people “I got Greenland and Trump didn’t!“)
  • Dozens of monks and nuns living in monasteries across China,
  • An entire community in Trinidad and Tobago
  • A group of friends in Portugal, who celebrated with a gorgeous picnic in a national park
  • An Olympic Silver Medalist in Mexico who hosted friends at a plant-based restaurant
  • A school principal in Mumbai, and a teacher in Greece who used the campaign to teach over 1,000 children about the link between food and climate change.

Shared Plates for a Shared Purpose

We initially intended this campaign to last a month. But given the speed and breadth of the take-off, we are not waiting until Earth Day 2027 to do it again. We’re continuing throughout the year.

Join our worldwide movement and register your table here (for two or twenty; at home or a restaurant, it all counts).  Check out our  participant photos from across the world. Add your table and beautiful face to our map!

Have you already participated? Thank you! Please forward this email to your friends, far and wide.

Click here to download the 1 Million Tables Toolkit, with recipes, hosting ideas, and more.

Don’t forget to take photos and send them to us!

Recipes the World is Loving

Because I love you, and I suspect you very much want you to help staunch climate change simply by enjoying a delicious meal with family and/or friends, I’m sharing the recipes participants have told us they love the most. Use these, or others you know and love. Anything goes – as long as it doesn’t include animal products.

Edamame Dip with Mint, Jalapeño and Lime: Your food processor does all the work here. Toss in edamame (high protein!), lime juice, tahini, mint, and garlic, give it a few whirls, and you’re good to go. You’ll never look at store-bought hummus quite the same way again. (Serve with crackers, raw veggies, or sliced baguette).

One-Pan Baked Dumpling in Curry Sauce: This recipe went viral on Instagram, and it’s easy to see why. First, is the technique: Dump and bake. Frozen veggie dumplings and any sturdy green (e.g., bok chow, broccoli, etc.) are dumped into a baking dish and smothered in a luscious coconut curry base. Trader Joe’s veggie gyoza are my go-to dumplings. (Note: Not all curry pastes carry the same heat. Start with 1 tablespoon, mix, and add more to your taste).

Cauliflower Lentil Tacos: These were the Cooking Channel’s Chef Jason Wrobel’s (How to Live to 100) most popular recipe for a reason: spiced lentils and cauliflower do something almost unfair to a taco – they mimic the savory depth of ground beef so convincingly that committed carnivores do actual double-takes. Fill into a crunchy taco shell. Add guacamole, shredded lettuce, and whatever says “great taco” to you. (Plant-based sour cream is better than you may think!).

Red Lentil & Spinach Dal: As red lentils (no soaking required!) simmer, they become soft and velvety, thickening into a rich, creamy dal that tastes like it’s been cooking all day. The magic here is in the simplicity: just two warming spices, earthy cumin and golden turmeric, doing more than you’d expect. Serve over brown rice, and you have a scrumptious, satisfying, healthy meal.

Creamy White Bean & Mushroom Stew: A 1 Million Tables Participant made this while camping in Botswana! Earthy, golden mushrooms. Pillowy chunks of potato. Creamy, velvety broth that coats every spoonful. And hearty white beans that make the whole thing feel like a warm hug. It’s rich, it’s deeply savory, it comes together in one pot, and the ingredients are easy to transport wherever your next camping trip takes you!