How does the food you eat impact the environment

Were you ever told to “eat up your vegetables” or “what you eat matters''? Bet you didn’t think these phrases mean more than simply eat healthier meals but they also contribute to a healthy environment. Globally food production accounts for 30% of greenhouse emissions. 

The food choices we make daily have a huge impact on our environment. With a growing global population, the earth’s resources are under constant threat from our daily lives pollution, climate change to name a few. The choices we make add to an ever growing threat of food shortages and contributions to environmental threats like global warming. It’s time we start looking at the choices we make and understand how the food we eat impacts the environment. 

It is very easy to overlook the environmental impact of our food because we are far removed, or maybe we just don’t know the processes taken to get the food from farm to our tables. Here are a few things to consider:

• Food production
• Processing 
• Transportation 

All of these add up to huge environmental footprints, meaning they contribute heavily to energy, water and chemical usage.

Below we’ve created a list of foods that contribute to environmental impacts like high energy usage or high pollution:

1. Animals like cows, goats and sheep 

• Require fertilizer, irrigated water
• They emit high levels of methane from the digestive systems and manure
• Clearing land to raise animals contributes to deforestation and climate change 

2. Seafood 

• Overfishing 
• Fishing fleets depend heavily on fossil fuels
• Marine pollution
• Coral reef decay

3. Food processing

• Processing of foods require lots of energy

4. Importation of foods

• Importation relies heavily on fossil fuels when transporting foods

With technological advancements and easy access to information, persons are more aware of the impacts their food has on the environment. Let's use this information to help us make better choices.