16th May, 2008
Food for Thought
Here is a video of a talk that Mark Bittman gave late last year that pretty much sums up my feelings of the current state of agriculture and the effects that it is having on us as individuals and on the world as a whole.
I’m not advocating giving up meat completely - I like meat and I will probably continue to eat it for as long as I can and, to be frank, bacon is simply too delicious to ever even think of giving it up - but I do have concerns of the toll that mass-produced meat is taking on the planet. The same goes with the incredible reliance on corn in the foodchain. As far as the welfare of individuals go, I guess it’s the same old argument that too much of anything is bad for you.
While the talk covers many important topics, I think one of his really key points is that, at least in this country, people have forgotten how to cook. Instead, they tend to rely on “convenience” foods which tend to be highly-processed and full of all sorts of unhealthy things. I’d hazard a guess that they also tend to have very high carbon footprints when compared to less processed foods like local meats/raw vegetables. We as individuals are just as guilty as big agribusiness for creating the environment that we are currently in due to our demand for convenience.
So what am I doing about it? Well, both my wife and I cook at home and try to keep our consumption of highly-processed foods down (although I’ll admit to eating some snack foods and the occasional frozen pizza). We also joined a CSA this year which should help us reduce the amount of meat our family eats, at least for as long as the growing season lasts. I’ve also tried to be a more aware consumer when shopping; looking for “more healthy” alternatives like free-range and organic foods from sources that are more local. As far as the meat goes, we’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much better a free-range bird tastes when compared to a caged one. It costs a little more, but well worth it in my opinion. What about you? Do you have any ideas or suggestions you’d like to pass along?
Posted at 10:28 am |
