Does our food have to cost us the Earth?

Since being diagnosed with IBS I started to take a lot more notice of the food I ate and the production process.  I started to find that our constant demand for cheaper food prices was having unexpected effects.  

- For our health

- For human rights violations

- For farmers

- For animal welfare

- for global warming 

I was really distressed that our actions could have unintended consequences.  It really made me think and changed the way that I saw food.  It's not just about shopping round for the best deal.  Or complaining about high prices.  I firmly believe that as consumers we need to take more responsibility for our actions.

CONSUMER CULTURE

Veganism and vegetarian have an important message, our consumer culture has seen our farms turned into mass food production sites.  Reducing the welfare of the animals.  Animals have been breed to be bigger, meaning more profit for the food producers. Making it harder for them to give birth.  Chickens are caged and never seen natural light, then killed for meat when they stop laying eggs.  

I'm not saying we all need to become vegan or vegetarian, every one of us has free will to make our own choices.  However I do believe we need to take ownership of the food we eat.  We should know where it comes from, and how it's produced.  

HOW WE EAT

The way we eat has changed dramatically.  Instead of cooking meals, we are now buying them ready made.  We used to eat a lot less meat and poultry. We ate vegetables when they came into season. You would wait till summer to eat your strawberries and raspberries.  There is now a twitter overload if someone can't find lettuce or hummus in their supermarket.  

The drive for cheaper food has caused many small dairy farms to close, as they could no longer survive on the price that milk was being sold. Our constant demand for cheaper honey is demoralising our local bee keepers.  

Bees are dying pesticides, habitat loss and foreign diseases have resulted in a loss of 17% of the UK's Bee population.  While the bee keepers in he US have recorded a loss of 44%.  Bee's are nature's pollinators, without them crops wont grow.

We have to ask ourselves  - How much is our food really worth.

The Guardian  newspaper has recently written about a 10 year survey that proves eating less meat and poultry is great for reducing obesity and improving overall health.  

For health reasons I also believe our society is eating too much meat.  British people were at their most healthiest during the 1950's.  Where meat was a luxury and eaten in smaller portions.  Just think what a difference it would make if you cut out eating meat a few days of the week.  I not saying we need to deny ourselves our favourite foods.  Just we need to think about how much we consume.  

CARBON FOOTPRINT

There was a major outcry early this year, when it was discovered that Scottish Schools where buying chicken products from Thailand.  The carbon footprint involved is not a great example to be setting our children.  Personally I believe that Scottish institutions should be buying local products and supporting our farmers.  If Scottish is not available, then why not British or Irish?  

HUMAN RIGHTS

Food production in other countries has been linked to human right violations.  Slave trade labour is being used on Brazilian cattle ranches.  With adults and children living in appalling conditions.  All for food production.  Another major problem of these cattle ranches are stolen land.  They are moving in and causing  Destruction of the Rainforest's to claim more land.  

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION

Orangutan Appeal UK

WWF

"Habitat loss poses the greatest threat to species. The world's forests, swamps, plains, lakes, and other habitats continue to disappear as they are harvested for human consumption and cleared to make way for agriculture, housing, roads, pipelines and the other hallmarks of industrial development. Without a strong plan to create terrestrial and marine protected areas important ecological habitats will continue to be lost."

Our consumer culture of wanting food items available all year, is also having an effect on already endangered animals.   In Malaysia and Indonesian deforestation to expand Palm oil farms, is endangering the life of Orangutans.  One of our closest cousins.  

Soy has also been linked to deforestation. It's not only used in vegetarian products, it's also produced in large quantities to as animal feed.

COTTON

Our consumer culture includes clothes production. Cotton a natural fibre preferred by vegans and vegetarians, is also causing environmental problems. Cotton production uses a high amount of pesticides in it's production, the off flow of water flowing into streams. Over 20,000 people deaths a year are linked to its use. The pesticides are also having a negative environmental impact. 

"About 20 million tons of cotton are produced each year in around 90 countries. China, United States, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and West Africa account for over 75% of global production"

These are only a few examples, there are ethical food producers out there.  The problem is we are just not checking. Since my IBS has gotten worse, I've become accustomed to reading labels.  The next time you are shopping  for food or clothes, just stop and take a look.  Let us become a society again that knows and cares where our food comes from.  If not for ethical reasons, then for your health.  

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