Diet Considerations and
Environmental Responsibility What we choose to eat has a huge impact on our health. Where that food comes from has a huge impact on the health of the planet. With the health crisis (in the U.S. and other Westernized countries) and the global climate crisis looming, it is more important than ever to make thoughtful and intentional choices about our food. Here’s an excerpt from Bruce Barrett's paper "Health and sustainability co-benefits of eating behaviors: Towards a science of dietary eco-wellness": “Two of the greatest challenges of our times - climate change and the linked epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease - are fueled in part by the over-consumption of carbon-intensive high calorie foodstuffs. Converging evidence from hundreds of studies has confirmed that transitioning from diets high in meat and dairy to largely plant-based diets not only is necessary for climate change mitigation but will also lead to substantive reductions in morbidity and mortality.” As I enter my sixth month gardening at Victory Garden’s for Peace, I find myself thinking a lot about food. What types of food do we eat? How do we obtain it? How was it grown? The world's food supply chain is vast, tangled and dizzying, making it difficult to answer these questions. But if we reflect a little, we can begin to unravel the answers. What we eat Most humans are omnivores and eat plants, animals, animal products, and my favorite, mushrooms! Some people choose not to eat animals/animal products for health reasons and/or ethical and environmental reasons. According to a working paper from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) 22% of the world’s population is vegetarian (Leahy, Eimear & Lyons, Sean & Tol, Richard (2010)). It is well-established that eating a plant-based diet is associated with better overall health and lower risk of heart disease and cancer which are the two leading causes of death in the U.S. It is also well-established that eating a plant-based diet is better for the planet. The agriculture sector is responsible for 25-30% of greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from meat production. “A North American study of 73,308 people found that vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diets were associated with 22% and 29% reductions in GHGs (greenhouse gases), and with 14% and 9% reductions in mortality.”(Soret et al., 2014). Where does our food come from? Whether we shop at a farmers’ market or grab a bag of chips from the gas station, the creation of our food is complicated. It’s obvious that the bag of chips was created by an industrial, petroleum-based system of food processing. The potatoes or corn were grown in a field using mechanized farming equipment and probably sprayed with unpronounceable chemicals, destroying all other life in the field. The finished product was then made in a factory, and transported by truck long distances to your local store. And this is an oversimplification. Alternately, the produce from the farmers’ market was lovingly grown, probably close-by, and with zero processing. A much healthier and sustainable option, for sure. But if we look a little closer, we will find that even these small organic farms are dependent on industrial inputs. It is standard practice for farms to import their fertility by bringing in thousands of pounds of compost, blood meal, and chicken manure (sourced from factory farms). It is also standard for small farms to use black plastic as mulch or weed suppression, and plastic T-Tape is often used for irrigation and needs to be replaced each year as it breaks down. All these artificial components are contributing to the multifaceted crisis we find ourselves in. What can we do? One of my life-long goals has been to produce more than I consume, not just in a food-related way, but generally, as a responsible inhabitant of this planet. In our modern Western world, this is quite the challenge. It is so easy to just buy everything ready-made, whether it’s what we wear or what we eat or how we choose to spend our time. Here at Ecology Action, we learn the GROW BIOINTENSIVE (GB) method and the eight principals used to grow a sustainable diet, with little or no outside inputs to the system. With this method and an (achievable for most) skill level, we could grow all of our calories and nutritional needs in a way that is revitalizing to the ecosystem. I am in a position now where my husband Matthew and I could potentially grow a significant portion of our own calories. We both work for Ecology Action and are honing our GB skills. We have the privilege of living somewhere with garden space and water and sunlight. The main challenge is to change our habits around the way we eat, eating mostly vegetables that we grow ourselves without outside inputs. If we continue to grow our skills – and our food – the benefits will be invaluable and long lasting! ♥ top | Newsletter Home |Table of Contents| Archive
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