Food & the Climate Crisis: What You Can Do!

What food we chose to eat is probably the single most important decision we make as individuals. While not always something we give much thought to, this choice has such a wide-spreading impact on the health of our bodies, our community, and the world around us. The environmental impact of food production and consumption is often a large piece of the puzzle that is left out of the conversation when discussing the climate crisis.

Ever since the Green Revolution, industrial agriculture has been expanding at alarming rates. One of the most important contributions of the Green Revolution was the creation of synthetic fertilizers. Before this time, plants were dependent on the sun’s energy to grow, and so they had certain physical limits to growth. When it was discovered that energy could be manufactured by fixating nitrogen into soil through the use of petroleum, agriculture, and the food we eat, was changed forever. No longer do plants rely on the sun for energy, but on petroleum. Therefore, the energy we consume comes from fossil fuels. It has been estimated that over 70% of all energy we intake is now from oil!

That doesn’t even take into account the massive amount of energy that is required to package, ship, and refrigerate food. All of this is done through the use of petroleum. We then purchase the food in a grocery store, drive home in our cars, and put it into our fossil fuel powered refrigerator. Nor does this take into account the massive amount of (petroleum-based) pesticides and herbicides that are sprayed onto our food. These not only leach into local water supplies and destroy ecosystems, but also lead to cancer in humans.

And one of the major contributing sources of greenhouse gases in the world is meat production. (This is not meant to be a rant to turn people into vegetarians or vegans, but it is meant to make people think about where their meat came from and the environmental impact it truly has). It takes about 20 pounds of grain just to make one pound of beef. All of this grain must be grown (with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides) and then fed to the cattle. It takes about eight pounds of grain to make a single pound of chicken. This is not even taking into account the literally tens of thousands of gallons of water it takes to make a single pound of meat.

According to the Center for a New American Dream, eating one less beef meal each week saves 300 lbs of carbon dioxide each year. That’s one less beef meal a week! Think about the impact one could have by cutting a majority or all of the meat from their diet. The single greatest thing an individual can do to stop the climate crisis is to eat less meat or none at all! I know people don’t like to hear it, but it is true! Becoming a vegetarian shrinks your personal carbon footprint more than switching your car to a Toyota Prius. Not only that, but every time an American becomes a vegetarian, 1 acre of trees and 1.1 million gallons of water are saved each year. That individual will also pollute half as much water every year.

All of this sounds overwhelming, and it is! But there are many small-simple steps that everyone can take to start changing your diet to one that is healthy for your body, your family, your community, your county, and the planet!

1) Eat Local – Purchase as much produce as you can from sources that are as close as possible. This will cut down significantly on the amount of shipping that is necessary to get your food from farm-to-fork, in turn reducing the amount it contributed to the climate crisis. Plus, eating local helps to invest in local agriculture instead of large agricultural corporations

2) Eat Organic – While it has become a green washing tool for many large agribusinesses, organic agriculture is important in the fight against climate change. Organic food was grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified foods and it uses practices that replenish the soil instead of destroying it.

3) Eat in Season – This will ensure that your food is fresh and foods will not have to be shipped across the globe to reach your plate. Eating in season goes hand-in-hand with eating local and helps support community food security!

4) Eat Lower on the Food Chain – This might mean eating one meal without meat per week or completely cutting meat and dairy from your diet, but whatever you do, lowering or eliminating meat from your diet is the single most important thing you can do to help fight climate change!

Below are a list of some recommended websites to learn more about the connection between food & the environment and steps you can take towards a more sustainable future!

Sustainable Table: www.sustainabletable.org

Eat Well Guide: www.eatwellguide.org

Local Harvest: www.localharvest.org

The Vegetarian Resource Group: www.vrg.org

GoVeg: www.goveg.com