Last September, Axel Férard embarked on a 5,500-kilometer bicycle Tour de France to raise public awareness of good practices to fight against climate change. This young 30 year old sportsman from Le Havre is not a newcomer. He already has behind him several sporting challenges during which he had the idea to progressively associate an awareness of our way of eating and managing our waste. WiseFins had the chance to talk with Axel about the importance of developing sustainable food, here is our discussion.
SOURCE : @PARISNORMANDIE
An eco-adventurer in the soul
Passionate about ecology since his childhood, Axel Férard defines himself today as an eco-adventurer, for him, he is “a person who travels without using fossil fuels and who goes out to meet people of all ages to raise awareness about the ecological transition and everyday actions. His goal is to educate to lessen our impact on the planet.” Axel Férard works for the association Graine d’Odyssées, which he created in 2018, and which aims to raise awareness among the general public about the impact of food consumption. Axel is also part of the Sport Planète collective, developed by MAIF, a French mutual insurance company, with seven other eco-adventurers.
SOURCE : @REDX
A 3-month Tour de France of Optimism
From September 25 to December 18, 2022, Axel will be on the road for a new challenge: cycling 5,500 kilometers to meet the crowd and raise awareness on the theme of food and sustainable agriculture. The name of his operation: The Tour de France of Optimism. During his journey, Axel will plant more than 1,000 trees, project in some cities the documentary produced by Graine d’Odyssées which traces his adventure in 2019, interview various professionals on sustainable mobility through local producers, host conferences around agriculture and intervene in schools, colleges and high schools. Another objective that is also very important to him is the collection of waste. Axel explains: “We are in a world where we use a lot of plastic. We see and buy a lot of packaging in supermarkets. We need to relocalize our agriculture and have easy access to bulk products, without packaging. In fact, 91% of the world’s waste is not recycled, it is either shredded or thrown away. The other 9 percent are recycled, but can only be recycled 3 or 4 times at most. We need to reorganize the way we consume”.
Educating future generations for a better future
Axel Férard will intervene in schools, colleges and high schools to raise awareness of global warming and help them adopt a sustainable diet. Axel explains: “It is essential to explain to the younger generations that we are in an absolute emergency. We won’t save humanity by taking showers instead of baths, but we need to raise awareness among younger people that will lead to daily actions”. Axel’s objective is to explain and promote alternative projects in order to encourage young people to think and act on their own. Axel also adds: “the objective is to reach more and more young people, and to create a snowball effect”. “Many young people are already very involved, but we are still afraid to act in general and opt for another lifestyle model.” Axel Ferard points out that “adopting a more sustainable lifestyle model does not mean returning to ancestral practices.” What Axel particularly likes about his various trips are the encounters. “What particularly stands out for me are the human encounters. I had a great time meeting strangers where we could share and exchange knowledge.” explains Axel.
SOURCE : @LAVOIXDUNORD
WiseFins is delighted to be able to meet people committed to more sustainable food. We share many values with Axel Férard, the main one being to reduce the environmental impact of our food. WiseFins works on a daily basis to help hotel and restaurant owners in their approach through a decision making software. Together, we can make a positive impact and reduce our footprint for future generations. You can support Axel on Facebook (lepetitvoyageurnormand) and Instagram (@axelferardeecoaventurier).