Food and Environmental Burden

    

"Earth" by Kevin M. Gill is licensed under CC BY 2.0

    Our food system and the environment on this planet are heavily related to each other. There are 7.2 billion people on the Earth, and our food system is already out of balance; and by 2050, there will be two billion more people joining our food system. (Foley) Four examples of our food system's limitations: One out of three people are suffering from malnutrition, our food is too rich in fat and sugar, one-third of food is wasted, and our natural resources are under pressure. All limitations can affect the environment in several ways. Is it possible for us to make the food system sustainable for both the planet and us? We will most likely find severe difficulties in food supply by then if there aren't any changes in the food production efficiency. Because of our food system's limitations, the environment will be in a dangerous position ten years later, and only increasing food production will deteriorate the situation. However, we can all contribute to making our society and environment sustainable by reconsidering the relationship between "Food" and "Environment." There are five essential topics we must know about if we are aiming to fix the food system: food mileage, usage of pesticides, processed food, wasted food, and deforestation.

     

"Airplane" by Sean MacEntee is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The load on the global environment of carbon dioxide emitted during the transportation of food is called "food mileage," and it is a big problem when thinking about global warming. However, it is not much of a concern in the US, a country with a low self-sufficiency rate tends to imports more food than other countries, and Japan is one of the countries with the most food mileage problem. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in Japan, the amount of food mileage in Japan is triple compared to the US, and 25% of carbon dioxide emissions are from food mileage in Japan. We need to know where the food is made and avoid food from other countries if possible. There is a mark called CFP (Carbon FootPrint) mark on the food product only in Japan, and it shows how much carbon dioxide and methane are emitted during the process from production to transportation. The United States and other advanced countries should have the CFP mark since the countries also have a relatively high carbon footprint rate.

     It is known that pesticides are not suitable for our health especially children and the farmer's family, but it also affects the environment excessively if not used carefully. Pesticide is one-factor causing air pollution, and it harms wildlife around the area including soil organisms and urban life. Additionally, if the pesticide concentration is high, it can defile water sources through the ground, and it carries on until us drinking. We can indeed harvest more crops when pesticides are used, but we have to pay extra attention to how we use them.

     

"Deforestation" by World Bank Photo Collection is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The speed of deforestation is more than what we are imagining. The Earth is losing approximately fifty thousand square kilometers of forest area on average from 2000 to 2010 (thirteen football courts per minute). Also, according to the World Resources Institute's report, 80% of the primeval forest had disappeared compared to when the civilization started 8000 years ago. Forests have an air purification function that absorbs harmful pollutant gases, detoxifies them, and leaves adsorb dust. Hazardous gases such as oxidants, which are the cause of photochemical smog, are decomposed just by touching the surface of the leaves, so even dirty leaves with reduced photosynthetic ability do not lose their air purification function. In addition, in places where high-concentration pollution occurs, such as at intersections of highways, it is practical to use the air purification capacity of plants as a measure against local pollution. Suppose the number of forests that purify the atmosphere continues to decrease in this way.

     

"Global Warming my arse" by therapysessions is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In that case, many pollutants will continue to float in the atmosphere, acid rain will increase, soil and water will be polluted, vegetation will die, and all of this has a significant impact on the ecosystem. There are also concerns about the acceleration of global warming due to deforestation. Forests absorb carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, by photosynthesis and store it as carbon in trees and underground, and have the power to suppress global warming. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed varies depending on the tree species and age, but a mature tree will absorb around 50 pounds of carbon dioxide in one year. Logging of forests, which contributes significantly to global warming, is a crucial issue in combating global warming, and there are concerns about its impact in the future. According to the National Institute for Environmental Studies, forests are home to 50 to 90% of all living things on Earth. As deforestation and warming progress simultaneously, the number of organisms that become extinct or decrease in proportion will increase. It is expected that animals and plants that have moved to cool places in response to climate change will lose their refuge due to the division of habitats due to deforestation and the rise in temperature due to rapid warming. Climate change has rarely progressed so rapidly in the past, particularly vulnerable rainforest organisms threatened with extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List already lists many endangered species. Forest areas are indeed recovering in some areas, especially in China and Europe, where large amounts of forest were once cleared. However, in developing countries like South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, forests decline at an accelerating rate due to shifting cultivation and commercial logging. Concerned about all the effects of deforestation, individual countries are focusing on tree planting activities. Still, it is urgent to create a global framework to put a full-scale stop on deforestation.

     

"festival food waste 2" by jbloom is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

30-40% of US waste is organic waste. It is often landfilled as it is, but it can be recycled. A study by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) in 2014 found that the United States disposes of more than 38 million tons of food each year. That's not enough for 100 Empire State Buildings. The USDA estimates that food loss spending is around 161 billion dollars, with a wide range of implications for food security, disposal costs, resource conservation, and climate change. Lesser-known is the 2020 edition of Project Drawdown, published by an NPO that seeks ways to reverse ongoing global warming, with more than 80 solutions to climate change (electric vehicles, meals centered on vegetable foods, easy-to-walk town planning, etc.), "reduction of food waste" is listed first. By reducing food waste, 87 gigatons of CO2 could be reduced from the atmosphere. Because one-third of the world's food is discarded without being eaten, much land, resources, and greenhouse gases generated during production are unnecessary. Therefore, intervention between the farm and the consumer can reduce waste, reducing overall demand.

     I watched a Japanese variety showed the other day, and they were talking about how miraculous our planet is. The possibility of a planet with organisms in this universe is the same as a broken watch being thrown in a 25-meter pool and fixed just by the water flow. It is fascinating how humankind evolved in the past seven million years, but we also have to respect other organisms. We are all a special existence, after all. If it is healthy for both our bodies and planet when changing our diets, why not? We are all responsible for the food industry to make a better change. If there are people not wanting to change their diets, they can also contribute to help the planet by not wasting food. Let's all protect this precious planet of ours.

"Made With Love Earth embroidery pattern" by wildolive is licensed under CC BY 2.0

               "The diet that helps fight climate change" by Vox published on 2017/12/12