A Food-Based Solution for Sustainable Living: Part 1

So, what is this change of diet that I mentioned about in my previous post?

No need to worry, my suggestion will not cost you hundreds of dollars (in fact, it will actually save you hundreds). It will also not make you go hungry or deficient in nutrients, and will not make you give up many of your tasty, favourite foods. It can also be done stepwise, and how far you want to take it is up to you.

I am suggesting you to go vegetarian.

The first reaction to my suggestion I get most commonly is “but I love meat!” But I want to ask you the following four questions:

1. Do you really like “meat,” or is it the texture, fat, and salty sauces that you like?
2. Do you crave meat, or is it the nostalgia of spending your dinner time with your family that you crave?
3. Do you desire meat or is it simply the energy, or calories that your body desires?
4. Or rather, since this blog is about sustainability, how about this: Is the momentary satisfaction of your tastebuds worth the destruction of our planet?

I am aware that my last question is a strong one that some of you may not like. But the truth is, our love for animal flesh is one of the largest contributing forces to many of the ecological and environmental problems we see on the news today, including excessive greenhouse gases, water/ground/atmospheric pollution, antibiotic resistance, and loss of genetic diversity in agricultural crops. And although it is not the focus of this particular post, consumption of high amounts of fatty animal foods is linked to major diseases of affluence such as cardiovascular disease, which is the cause of 1/3 of deaths in Canada.

Of course, it is not only I who is making these claims of the destruction that the consumption of meat is causing. In a 2006 United Nations report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations called Livestock’s Long Shadow, one of the authors, Dr. Henning Steinfield stated the meat industry to be

“…one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems.”

Their analysis found the livestock industry to contribute around 18% of the total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, a figure larger than that of total transportation using cars and airplanes. Plus, this number doesn’t fully represent the impact that meat consumption has on our atmosphere. For instance, a whopping 37% of worldwide methane comes from the guts of the billions of livestock animals, and unfortunately methane is also twenty times more potent in its warming effect than carbon dioxide on the Earth’s atmosphere.

The amount of energy spent, and the waste created in every step of meat production – starting from growing animal feed, going all the way to their manure and undesirable gases, refrigeration after slaughter, and to transport – are unfortunately, often ignored by many environmental groups. Thus, little about it is known to the public. The fact that changing our diet can have a substantial influence in our current atmospheric state and climate is sadly buried behind the fancy advertisements for Hybrid cars.

Fortunately, there are now more and more people realizing the truth. Groups such as Climate Focus, is suggesting a meat-free diet as one of their key strategies in reducing carbon emissions. Not only does this prevent forests and other greeneries from being cleared for agriculture and the popular “grass-fed” beefs, it also makes logical sense as the majority of the nutrients synthesized in primary producers are lost as they moves up the food pyramid (i.e. the energy is wasted for the animal’s own growth, energy, and waste).

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) also revealed many staggering statistics in its 2011 report, proving the impact of our food choices in our environment. For example, their analysis found one kilogram of consumed beef emitted 27.0 kilograms of CO2 for its production and post farmgate processes, while one kilogram of dry beans emitted only 2.0 kilograms of CO2. And did I mention that dry beans, which triple in amount when cooked, are packed with protein, fiber, low glycemic index carbohydrates, various vitamins and minerals?

I must confess, the topic of meat and the atmospheric effect alone is just too vast for me to cover in one post. Some of the examples I’ve mentioned above are just tip of the truth iceberg. To read further, I suggest you check out the two links:

Livestock’s Long Shadow, and the EWG’s Meat Eater’s Guide

 

…to be continued….

Feeding Humanity

What exactly is food? According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word is defined as:

“Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth.”

Most people have two to three meals a day to serve the purpose of providing our body with both macro and micronutrients, to “maintain life and growth.” Unlike most of the species in the animal kingdom, however, food for humans is more than just a substance for energy. Food is deeply embedded in our culture, and is often the centre of many social and ceremonial gatherings, such as BBQ parties, Thanksgiving dinners, and going out for coffee or alcohol with other people. Food is, in itself, inherently communal.

The fact that food dominates so much of our day-to-day lives is exactly why I believe that changes in our diet can have one of the greatest, if not the greatest, impact to this world we live in. It’s easy to think that changing one’s diet is difficult for a host of different reasons, and that change in a single individual’s diet is not capable of making much of a difference. But I disagree.

In my future posts, I will be sharing why and how we should change, or modify our diet if we want to make a difference in this world.

What kind of difference?

A difference in the future of our ailing planet. Rethinking about what’s on your plate just one more time can have a tremendous impact on our planet’s environment, ecology, and most of all, on humanity as a whole.

An Argument for Vegetables.

What did these vegetables ever do to you?

In my first year undergraduate philosophy classes, I had to read a couple of texts by Aristotle, Plato, Descartes, and Kant, to name a few. And in those texts, especially in ones written by Aristotle, the philosopher was always out to prove something (duh). However, to draw any conclusion whatsoever, they needed to determine the premises on which the philosopher would construct his or her big climax – the conclusion. So using deductive reasoning, where we take a bunch of observations to come to a conclusion, I’m going to convince you that you should be eating more healthier foods. And yes – that means more broccoli.

We’re barely past the first paragraph, and at this point you’re probably thinking that I’m starting to sound like your mom who just cunningly slid in some vegetables into your mouth while reminiscing about her early university career, but please – I don’t want to be your mom. It’s just that it’s so easy to forget why we’re trying to eat healthy, and I’m here to tell you why you’re doing just that. Sounds redundant, but I think that if you’re already eating healthy, this post will help affirm that behaviour. If you’re not, then hopefully I can convince you to start eating more greens.

I’m going to start my simple proof by determining some of the fundamental truths about food:

1. Food must be produced using energy. Obviously, some foods take more energy to grow than others. For example, a pound of lettuce will take less sunlight, fertilizer, and water to produce than a pound of beef.
2. We consume food to give ourselves energy. The energy that we obtain from food gives us energy to do work, and some foods gives us more energy than other foods. For example, a pound of beef will provide us with more calories to perform work with than a pound of lettuce.
3. Food also impacts our health in some way and it also plays a determining role in how long we live. Therefore, it is necessary that in order to live longer and healthier lives, we must eat those foods that help us live longer and healthier.
4. Nutrients that play the biggest detrimental role to our health and well-being are sugars, high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, and refined oils. These harmful nutrients are found mainly in soda, common junk foods, and meat products. However, they are rarely found in plants and vegetables.
5. Therefore, to eat foods that are not detrimental to health and well-being, it is best to eat more vegetables and less meats.

Conclusion: To live longer and healthier lives, it is more beneficial to eat more vegetables and limit meat and junk food consumption.

Fine, call me captain obvious. However, I think that we all need a helpful reminder as to why we do what we do sometimes. For a lot of other people, eating healthy may not be as obvious as it may seem for you. I know that this argument has quite a few holes in it, but I tried to keep it as simple and non-scienc-y as possible. If you’re looking for more of the sciences of eating healthy, growing your own food, and also eating with sustainability in mind, they’re in the pipelines!