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Healthy eating for a Green Planet!
Our green planet in our hands
You are what you eat! We all know that healthy eating is good for us but what about our planet Earth? Can our
food choices have an impact on climate change and make our planet green and vibrant again?
Yes! Food production accounts for a quarter of every household's carbon footprint so our choices do make a difference.
Yes! Food production accounts for a quarter of every household's carbon footprint so our choices do make a difference.
- Have a look at Food's Carbon Footprint to find out ways you can reduce your carbon footprint by selecting the best foods, eating healthily, shopping wisely and cooking smartly.
- Get the facts on how to make your diet healthy, nutritious and eco friendly on my Nutrition Facts page.
- Don't Gobble-Gobble a Turkey this Thanksgiving. Why eating turkey is bad for the birds, your health and the environment.
- Read about the inspiration I found at the Los Angeles Green festival - time for people power!
- Are multivitamins really bad for your health? Read more at Multivitamins shorten life - or do they?
- How is public health and food policy being used to create a healthier, more sustainable future in Los Angeles?
- Find out why pollution was high on the agenda at the Women in Green Forum in Santa Monica last week.
- Why is Los Angeles an environmental conundrum? And can other cities learn from their example?
- Interested in cooking some delicious healthy meals - check out my Healthy Recipes Blog. First recipes are for Potato, Carrot and Lentil Soup, Wild Rice Waldorf Salad, Easy Baked Beans, Warm Bean Salad, Tofu Scramble and Banana Muffins. NEW! Vegan Shepherd's Pie.
Global Warming: The Facts
After years of research and observing the evidence, the vast majority of the scientific community is convinced that global warming is happening, that it is caused by human activity and that it is a threat to life on this planet.
- greenhouse gas emissions have increased from 5 to 30 gigatonnes per year in the last 50 years
- carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 30% to nearly 400 parts per million
- less heat is being radiated out into space and more heat is being reflected back onto the earth
- the average global temperature increased by 1C over the last century
- the global temperature is predicted to rise by between 2C and 5C by 2100
But what effect will this increase in temperature have on the planet? Check out my Green Blog post on Deep Future where a respected climatologist predicts the impact of global warming on the earth.
'Although the scientific process is always open to new ideas and results, the fundamental causes and consequences of climate change have been established by many years of scientific research, are supported by many different lines of evidence, and have stood firm in the face of careful examination, repeated testing, and the rigorous evaluation of alternative theories and explanation.' National Academy of Sciences, USA
And there is no doubt that we are running down the natural resources of our planet, destroying the environment and ruining the world for future generations...
- the forests are being cut down at a rate of 5 million hectares per year to provide land for farming, meat production and bio-fuels
- the oceans are polluted with heavy metals, plastics and petrochemicals
- 80% of marine fish stocks are overexploited with 50% in imminent danger of complete collapse
- many animal species are endangered through habitat destruction
- the rivers are used as toxic waste-dumps by factory farming
- the skies are polluted by greenhouse gases
- underground aquifers and rivers are running dry
Have a look at my Green Blog post on the Merchants of Doubt and find out about the campaign of deception on climate change that is being led by powerful lobbying groups.
Healthy Eating: For a Green Planet
- the United Nations report Livestock's Long Shadow ranks livestock farming as having the 3rd largest environmental impact of produced goods, with meat processing coming in at number 6 and milk processing at number 8
- animal
livestock produces nearly a fifth of all greenhouse gases (more than all transportation put
together)
- the world's cattle consume enough food to feed 8.7 billion people, more than the entire human population
- 56 billion animals are slaughtered every year to feed the world population of 7 billion
- synthetic fertilizers release nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, a gas that has 300 times more global warming effect than carbon dioxide
- food production accounts for around a quarter of each household's greenhouse gas emissions
- agriculture uses half the world's land and takes three-quarters of its water usage
- non-seasonal fruit and vegetables have a high carbon footprint through greenhouse cultivation, freezing and transportation (especially by air)
Anna Lappe's book Diet For a Hot Planet explores the link between what we eat and its impact on the environment. Highly recommended if you want to find out more.
Healthy Eating: Meat The Truth video
Watch this 2 minute trailer for the Meat The Truth documentary which highlights the link between meat-eating and global warming.
Healthy Eating: For You!
Healthy eating can be both good for you and the planet. Eating a diet with less meat and dairy keeps you healthy, helps you lose weight and has a positive impact on climate change too! For instance, a meat-based diet uses seven times more land than a plant-based diet. And livestock farming now uses 50% of our planet's entire surface.
Vegetarians have a lower risk of illnesses such as as stroke, heart disease, some cancers, obesity, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and diabetes. In fact, a major study in the British Medical Journal even found that vegetarians lived longer too - by an average of 6 years!
Find out more on healthy eating for you on my Nutrition Facts page.
Browse my Healthy Recipes Blog for ideas on cooking healthy, nutritious meals.
Vegetarians have a lower risk of illnesses such as as stroke, heart disease, some cancers, obesity, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and diabetes. In fact, a major study in the British Medical Journal even found that vegetarians lived longer too - by an average of 6 years!
Find out more on healthy eating for you on my Nutrition Facts page.
Browse my Healthy Recipes Blog for ideas on cooking healthy, nutritious meals.
Healthy Eating: For the Animals
A typical feedlot
The sad reality of much of the farm industry today - animals are treated without compassion or dignity and often live in appalling conditions. Animals are complex emotional and social creatures that are now treated as 'units of production' rather than sentient beings. And the industrial scale of these operations has a high environmental impact...
Look at my Nutrition Facts page for tips on reducing your consumption of meat and dairy.
- factory farms are a major source of water and air pollution
- poultry farms require massive amounts of energy for cooling, ventilation and processing
- it takes just a thousand cows to produce thirty-thousand gallons of manure each and every day
- one in three dairy cows suffer from infected udders and the pus from that ends up in your milk
- slaughterhouses are often as cruel to their employees as they are to the animals
Look at my Nutrition Facts page for tips on reducing your consumption of meat and dairy.
Bring back happy cows!
