Food Miles

How does the food you eat affect the natural and man-made environment around you? What are your suggestions for food reduction of food miles and a better environment when it comes to buying food?

Because of the growing population of the human race, the demand for food increases. Because of this, more and more forests must be destroyed so that more agricultural land can be created. Once old farmland has been completely deprived of nutrients, it becomes an arid landscape which serves no purpose. In addition to deforestation and creating new deserts; transport and preservatives also damaged the environment.

Because most foods cannot be grown in all areas, they need to be transported via boat or airplane. When using these modes of transportation daily, on distances stretching from Africa to the US or Canad, great amounts of CO2 are being released into the atmosphere damaging our Ozone. This is the one of the mayor reasons for the increase of global warming.

Finally, preservatives are often used to keep food from spoiling on these long journeys. These preservatives can be very harmful to the human body. Along with preservatives, some companies also use harmful pesticides, and food radiation which can also cause illness or abnormalities in humans.

I believe that the best way of limiting food miles is by either having less trips between A and B, as well as purchasing more locally grown food rather than imported ones. Studies have found that the levels of carbon dioxide released by all locally produced foods was less than any single imported product. In most super markets, 80% of the food on sale, rots or expires on the shelf insted of being bought. If companies and countries imported less bananas, for example, less of their food would rot, and they would save money on growing food, preservatives, and transportation. This would also waste less nutrients in the soil, and minimize pollution.