Maggie Baird has brought her Support + Feed mission to those in her community, to fans at her daughter Billie Eilish‘s concerts and, as of Friday (April 28), to Global Citizen Now.
The food and climate activist was one of four speakers on a panel about food insecurity and ethical, sustainable sourcing at the 2023 New York City summit for activists, joining Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness, restauranteur Pinky Cole and Eleven Madison Park owner Daniel Humm onstage in front of fellow industry leaders and members of the press. Baird founded Support + Feed in 2020 to combat hunger in Los Angeles during the pandemic, through which she developed a bigger mission of eliminating food insecurity via equitable plant-based food systems because, as she explains, “climate change is inextricably linked to what we eat.”
But environmentalism has been her life’s passion since long before then. Behind the scenes of the summit, Baird spoke with Billboard about spending most of her life as an “apologetic” vegan and climate warrior, until one Thanksgiving about 15 years ago, she just stopped apologizing. “I was like, no more going to people’s houses with the turkey on the table, everyone worshipping the destruction of an animal, nobody caring about the environment,” she recalls of putting her foot down.
“We’re going to do Thanksgiving at home alone, [because I’ve been] bringing all the food anyway cause I’m bringing the vegan version of everything,” she continues. “Why have I been apologizing for decades for doing something that is right?”
Both Eilish and her older brother/songwriting partner Finneas have grown up to become vocal climate activists. The “Bad Guy” singer features informative videos on Support + Feed at her concerts along with stations where fans can challenge themselves to eat daily plant-based meals, and she made her mom’s organization one of a few green organizations to benefit from her proceeds.
“Billie’s fans jumped on the bandwagon,” Baird says of Support + Feed’s beginnings. “It was amazing. One of the things I did with Billie from the beginning was push the music industry to be more sustainably minded. I think the music industry is special in a lot of ways. They have direct artist to fan connection — other forms of entertainment, not so much. A musician has a real heart-to-heart connection with their fans.”
And while Baird did raise Finneas and Billie with firm, sustainable values — every year, for example, their Christmas presents are wrapped in the same reusable cloths — she says both musicians independently found their own distinct passions for the cause. “I was not apologetic to my family, I was always very outspoken,” she says with a laugh. “We put things in their paths for them to learn it themselves. I remember very distinctly [Billie] watching a David Attenborough documentary with me and how it influenced her way more than I ever could. She’s quite adamant. Anything that might have come from me, she’s taken it on and then some.”
In addition to Baird’s food-focused discussion, the two-day Global Citizen Now summit included conversations on abortion access, supporting women in workplaces, protecting protesters in Iraq and Kenya and more climate-focused seminars. John Legend stopped by to advocate for greater voter turnout as the 2024 election approaches, actress Busy Philipps called for more representation of reproductive health issues in entertainment, and French President Emmanuel Macron joined in via video chat for a conversation on implementing global sustainability policies.
Going forward, Baird has plans to team up with more big-name musicians to spread Support + Feed’s message. Paramore endorses the organization at shows — “[Hayley Williams] basically said to me, ‘We don’t want to tour unless we’re doing something good for the world,’” Baird recalls — and Pharrell Williams has also come aboard.
“We can offer musicians the chance to reach their fans and do something really active,” Baird says. “They can give them the chance to learn about what’s happening, take our plant-based pledge and hopefully deliver meals. Musicians and music events are perfect because you’ve got so many people in the same place, and people who really care.”
