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Food Habit and the Earth

Bhuwan Thapaliya - 1/21/2008

People all over the world now are aware of various socio- environmental issues. Today, environmental problems transcend national boundaries, they are not regarded as a local issue but rather a global issue and awareness among them is increasing.

Considering so, most of us now comprehend that it’s important to plant trees, cut off carbon emission, recycle paper, turn off unnecessary electricity, use more solar and wind energy, conserve gas, pollute less and decontaminate our rivers, ponds, and streams.

But even after being this conscious about the environment, sadly, we, however, knowingly or unknowingly have failed to correlate our eating habits with the environment.

What’s there to correlate, you may perhaps ask. Our eating habits and the environment are two different things. But according to the experts our eating habits and the environment are deeply correlated.

It is human nature to select healthy food for ourselves but while doing so we have failed to understand how much our food choices also affect the health of our mother - the planet Earth. Thus, the threats to the planet of modern production and consumption patterns are subject to considerable debate.

World is not what it is used to be then. Medical science has metamorphosed a lot but yet new and new diseases are popping up somehow. Believe it or not, most of these diseases have erupted due to our own eating habits.

The link between eating animal fat and developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes and most cancers is a well established medical fact but yet people all over the world continue to consume animal fats.

Too much meat and meat ingredients in our everyday diet hampers not only our health but it also strains the world’s natural resources. For example, contemplate over this fact: It takes five pounds of grain to produce one pound of edible beef, seven pound of corn and soy to produce one pound of pork, and three pounds of feed to produce a pound a chicken.

And there is this water connection. For example, contemplate over this media report: Water required to produce 1 pound of U.S. beef, according to the Cattlemen’s Association is somewhat around 441 gallons. But other sources vary. For instance, the Water Education Foundation puts the number around 2,464 gallons.

Meanwhile, it takes a lot less water to produce fruits and vegetables. According to the reports, it takes only 49 gallons to produce a pound of apples. But you might say, apples and meat are two different things and you are right. But sometimes when the fate of the nature is at stake then its worth correlating.

Now, ask yourself a basis question, from an ecological stance, what makes the most sense? I am not advocating that one should not eat meat. One should eat meat but not much to help the environment and help yourself in the long run.

Focus yourself eating lower on the food chain as often as you can. This means focusing your diet on grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables. But if you don’t think you can move your diet all the way down the food chain as you are addicted or simply have no option rather than eating animal fat, then remember that an ounce of reduction in animal fat will make a pound of contribution toward preserving the planet.

It has been reported by the media that Livestock eat more than a third of the world’s grain. In the United States , 70 percent of the grain grown- 172 million metric tons – is fed to animals. What does this mean? The answer is simple; it is enough to feed a billion people worldwide who are malnourished or are suffering from poverty and hunger.

But having stated the obvious fact above, I am not trying to blame it on the cattle for the world’s hunger because world hunger is political. There is enough food in the world for everyone to eat but dirty politics has prevented it from reaching the stomach of the starved and needy.

Hence, blaming the cattle for our hunger is akin to blaming the devil for our sin. This world belongs to our animal friend as much as it belongs to us. Cattle should not be deprived of their food grains. They have every right to eat as we have every right to breathe.

Yet, there is no harm if we deliberate facts such as these. For instance, Mark Reisner, author of Cadillac Desert have this to say: "In California , the single biggest consumer of water is not Los Angeles ; it’s not the oil and chemicals or defense industries. Nor is it the fields of grapes and tomatoes. It’s irrigated pasture: grass grown in a near-desert climate for cows.

Experts say, perhaps, the most visible example of the impact of food production on the environment is the hamburger- rain forest connection. According to the Rainforest Action Network, one hamburger destroys 55 square feet of rain forest, taking with it 20 to 30 species of trees, hundreds of insects species and innumerable mosses and fungi.

The eradication of the rain forest will have consequent effect on us because it is the main source of our oxygen. Furthermore, the eradication would lead to the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere – the greenhouse effect.

“The massive burning of coal, fossil, fuels and wood releases damaging quantities of carbon dioxide into the air, which keeps the sun’s heat from escaping into space,” scientists all over the world contemplate.

There is some proven evidence that the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human activities will raise global temperatures through a greenhouse effect, so we must think about our mother Earth.

Earth is our mother and we got to think about her or else our future generation will never forgive us. Let us at least try, sacrifice a bit cause by doing so we could prolong the inevitable at least.

Finally, you have the freedom to eat or not to eat meat, but next time when you eat please be more alert. Think twice before munching meat and meat products, and think about the environmental cost of raising cattle. At least ponder for a while. Your action could save the lives of millions in the long run. Don’t forget that there is a strong correlation between your food habit and the Earth.

Yet there is little doubt that eating less animal fat, especially meat is not the only solution as various important adjustments in various sectors, mainly the sectors that deal with the environment and farms are needed to achieve environmental sustainability.