This is an intro post to my blog. For the next couple of weeks I will be posting various ways why one should eat more sustainable and how to do it. Along with various recipes, places to eat, quotes and much more.
First off, I should introduce what the word sustainable means. Sustainability is defined as the avoidance of depletion of natural resources in order to maintain ecological balance. In which sustainable eating follows the same guidelines. The main guidelines regarding sustainable eating revolves around not consuming ingredients that are harmful to the environment such as; soybean oil, palm oil and high fructose corn syrup. Other food products that can be harmful to the environment, are those produced by animals. It is not the actual animal or the product from the animal that is harmful. It is the way that it is produced which causes damage. The way in which most animal products are produced is done by commercial farming.
Commercial farming is a quick and easy way to produce a large amount of animal products at once. However, it can take a toll on the environment. According to the EPA, “commercial farming plays a large role in; water pollution, soil erosion, and climate change.” (EPA, March 10, 2017) For example, the pesticides, fertilizers and manure can get into run off water, polluting major bodies of water. Also commercial farming removes the surface soil. This surface soil is full of organic matter and nutrients. The erosion of the surface soil can also clog streams, rivers and lakes. Thus causing damage to habitats in the water. Commercial farming plays a huge role into climate change. On average commercial farming creates about 12.5% of greenhouse gases, 40% of methane and 62% of nitrous oxide.
Although, there is no way of putting an ultimate stop to commercial farming, there is a way to reduce it. The one thing that you can do to help reduce emissions from commercial farming, is to simply not support or buy any products that are produced by these commercial farms. In doing so, one may choose a vegan or vegetarian way of life to help reduce emissions from these commercial farming.
Stay tuned to learn more about how altering your diet can help benefit the environment and play a role in reducing pollution that is given off by commercial farming.