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Eco-Systems + Climate
"In a gentle way, you can shake the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi, Leader of Indian Independence from British Rule (died 1948)
Denial is at the core of our human existence, and in some twisted way, denial keeps us going during dark times. We want to believe that Everything Will Be OK as the signs in my neighborhood said during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unprecedented times, indeed. Connect the dots. Listen to scientists. Watch satellite photography over time showing our ice caps, a primary source of fresh water, melt into oblivion. Hope is also at the core of human existence, and when combined with intelligent change and focused action, we can create a healthier future. How we farm, ranch, shop, eat, drink, think, and live matters.
ON THIS PAGE:
Ignorance is Bliss? / Never Give Up / Water Wars / Carbon Footprints + Cannellini Beans / What is Greenwashing? / Meet Whistle-Blowers + Solution-Creators / Food Systems Map / Climate Change Myths / Eco-Footprint of Foods / Environmental Impact of Meat / Can Fashion Be Sustainable?
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Ignorance is Bliss?
(the power of education)
As hard as it might be to become food, beverage, and food-systems educated, it's also a ticket to freedom of choice. Nobody likes facts that make us feel badly about our breakfast. And yet, (intelligent) change is the only constant in life. We can embrace change or deny it.
Could learning about the connection between food animals and unstable eco-systems shift our behaviors? I hope yes. I also understand why not knowing something feels much more comfortable than confronting a bleak (and reversible) truth.
Never Give Up
We cannot give up, every single try counts, ALL applicable, practical, and positive solutions are welcome, and what we eat and drink deeply matters. Personally, I'm a realist who tends to find silver linings with hope in my heart, and I don't see the glass as half empty or half full. I see a glass that needs our wise attention and TLC.
Children growing up now are more aware than many grown-ups. Let's listen to them. Let's get out of our own ways and choose to wake up and smell the possibilities. We can and need to change. Like, right now. In the words of Winston Churchill: "never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty." No matter what. NO MATTER WHAT.
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Water Wars
(this is getting serious)
Stats on water use: a third-pound (.15 kg) burger requires 660 gallons (2498 L) of water. One pound (.45 kg) of beef requires 1,799 gallons (6809 L) of water, which includes grain and grasses irrigation for feed, plus water for drinking and processing. Two slices of wheat bread need 22 gallons (83 L) of water.
The concept of water wars is not only the subject of dystopian science fiction films; disputes over depleted water resources are already occurring today. Human environmental, water, and climate migration has begun.
Carbon Footprints + Cannellini Beans
Dr Klaper says we are what we absorb, not what we eat. Point taken. We're also creators in terms of our impact on the soil, land-use, air, waterways, oceans, and finite natural resources. Not only are beans nutritious food heroes packed with fiber, macro-nutrients, and micro-nutrients, they leave a very low carbon footprint. This can never be said enough: what we eat and drink profoundly matters.
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What is Greenwashing?
Wikipedia defines greenwashing (aka "green sheen"), as "a form of marketing spin in which green PR and marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aims, and policies are environmentally friendly." Sadly, this marketing ploy is destroying our trust in research.
"Meat and dairy provide just 18% of the world's calories, but use up to 83% of the world's agricultural land and produce 60% of the agriculture industry's greenhouse gas emissions."
- Ocean Robbins, American Researcher + Co-Founder of Food Revolution Network