Eating for the Future

I’m a diet fanatic; I have the tendency to starve myself rather than eat something that is either not healthy for me, or does not fit into my high-protein, high-carbohydrate nutritional plan. This habit of mine allows me to live the active life I do, yet when further examined could end up causing more problems than fixing. I would like to say over 60% of my protein intake comes from meats usually eggs, chicken or steak. Having most of my protein come from meat is not a biocentric behavior whatsoever; the only person I’m helping is myself. From a case study done at McGill University it was determined that meat, cheese, fish, and eggs resulted in 30 kg of CO2 for every edible product produced. This is compared to the average 2.5 kg of CO2 produced for every edible product of vegetables and fruit made (Carlsson-Kanyama and Gonzalez 2010). The difference in CO2 production between eating a piece of grilled chicken and a serving of broccoli is significant. Substituting meat once per day over a year adds up. Think about it! There is 365 days in a year and each product of meat substituted for a vegetable or fruit would roughly lead to a 27.5kg reduction in CO2 emission. In summary that means one would reduce their CO2 emission by 10,037kg if they choose a leafy green instead of juicy slab. Nevertheless, changing one’s eating behaviors for the environment is not always the easiest task because there are always problems that get in the way. For example at Lafayette one cannot fully control what food is available to them all the time, so what food is made readily available is eaten regardless of the environmental implications. This is what happens to me, instead of choosing to eat a salad at lower I choose to have a turkey sub because the line is shorter, so I will get my food faster and curb my hunger. Another example would be when I go to Upper and choose to eat numerous plates of beef stroganoff instead of having salad because there is no romaine lettuce left. In my day to day life I find the food I typically end up eating is the highest protein, easiest accessible sustenance I can find. Therefore, if I’m going to change this behavior I’m going to have to relax my natural tendencies and focus on how spending a bit more time looking for food could benefit the greater good.

 

Resources

Annika Carlsson-Kanyama, Alejandro D. Gonzalez (2010). Potential contributions of food consumption patterns to climate change. Retrieved from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/5/1704S.full