Although industrial agriculture has certainly made food production easier and food more available, with is comes an ethical and environmental impact. According to the Land Health Institute, the global meat industry uses 1/3 of the world’s freshwater and produces more greenhouse gases than the entire world’s transportation emissions. Considering meat consumption has tripled since the 1960s, it can be assumed that the production and consumption will continue to rise. As this production rises, the more densely packed these industrial farm animals are and the more inhumane their treatment: antibiotics to treat and prevent bacterial infection, growth hormones to expedite the production, an unnatural diet of grains instead of grasses, genetic mutilation and GMO, and a lifetime of confinement. When it comes to animal agriculture, I am always reminded of Michael Pollen’s quote, “You are what you eat eats.”
TO PUT IT IN PROSPECTIVE
- It takes 1,700 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef
- It takes 39 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of vegetables
- The higher your consumption of animal products, the higher your risk of cardiovascular disease (the number one cause of death in the US)
- Dedicating one day a week to eating just plants and skipping meat reduces your carbon footprint and also lowers your caloric intake, helping you slim down.
- Research has hypothesized that if every American went meatless for one day a week, we could save 100 billion gallons of water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide.
TOP WAYS TO EAT ETHICALLY
- BUY LOCAL: Not only do you support local small businesses but you reduce transportation of these goods, reducing carbon emissions and pollution, and the added bonus? The local produce is fresher, tastes better and contains more nutrients than that that has been sitting on truck beds for weeks.
- WASTE LESS: Using edible food scraps like broccoli stems, utilizing those veggies that last the longest to reduce waste like Cruciferous vegetables, kale, root vegetables, potatoes, carrots, beets and frozen foods that stay fresh longer and limit your household waste.
- CHOOSE BETTER QUALITY MEAT, POULTRY AND FISH
- Grass fed cows not only have less fat, they have higher levels of heart healthy omega-3s and vitamins A and E
- GRASS FED AND FINISHED = This means the cows are fed nothing but grass (their natural diet) from weaning from mother’s milk until they are slaughtered
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Pasture Raised, Certified Humane poultry and eggs produce healthier eggs with twice the omega-3s, three times the vitamin D, four times the Vitamin E and seven times the beta carotene than conventional caged
- CERTIFIED HUMANE= chickens are allowed to roam free, foraging on their natural diet, running free and socializing
- FREE RANGE = This simple means that chickens have access to 2 square feet of space, doesn’t mean they actually access it and doesn’t mean its grass
- WILD SEAFOOD
- Wild seafood is caught in the animal’s natural environments, where they are eating their natural diets. Wild seafood is richer in
- Farmed seafood is typically raised in crowded pens where antibiotic use is high, artificial coloring may be added to their already very processed feed, and toxic contaminants like PCBs, Dioxins and pesticides are prevalent.
BUYING TIPS FOR SEAFOOD:
1. “Sustainably farmed” means the fish are less densely populated and there is less chance of antibiotic use, so its a better option than “farmed”.
2. “Organic” means nothing when it comes to seafood, its simply a marketing tactic. It isn’t a USDA regulated term in the seafood industry.
3. “Color enhanced” means artificial dye is added to their feed.
4. “Sushi Grade” means it has been flash frozen to kill bacteria and is safe to consume raw.
5. Most Pacific seafood is wild and most Atlantic seafood is farmed.
RECIPES FEATURED IN THIS ARTICLE: