Balancing Food Issues and Environmental Effects

Global issues like climate change and rise in carbon footprint has resulted in the tremendous popularity of concepts like sustainable food and organic farming. The term ‘sustainability’ is the current buzz in the food industry with more than 50% Americans having heard of it. Since factory farming involves the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides, consumers have started demanding access to safe and healthy food that has been grown sustainably. If experts are to be believed, sustainable farming of crops and vegetables can ensure economic prosperity for a long term. If you support ethical consumption and choose sustainable food items you will be extending your support towards reducing environmental impacts of conventional farming practices. Sustainable food is more than just nutrition and health; it is also related to the enhancement of rural communities, provision of fair wages to farmers and humane farming methods. If you want to adopt the sustainable approach for food, try purchasing seasonal and locally available ingredients. We may have got used to eating what we want regardless of whether the vegetable or fruit is in season or not but the choices we make is adding up to the rising carbon footprint. If the out of season produce is transported to far away destinations by air, greenhouse gas emission takes place. Instead of paying fair wages to local farmers for their seasonal produce, consumers are paying more for the packaging, refrigeration and transportation of exotic food items. The concept of sustainable food also involves choosing fair trade produce so that trading relations can be improved with developing countries which will in turn improve the lives and working conditions for farmers and workers. Always look for the Fairtrade Mark on food items you are buying. It has been proved that eggs, dairy products and meat from sustainable farms not only taste good but they are healthier as well. As compared to the conventional produce, these products contain Omega 3 fatty acids, high quantity of good fat and more antioxidants. The present need is to shift sustainable food to mainstream from niche and make more consumers across the world aware of its benefits.