Think Before You Eat

Can our eating habits effect our environment? What we today will be responsible for tomorrow’s destruction? Is there a relation between between global warming and food we eat? Answer to all these questions is a big “YES”

The relation between food and environment can be understood through chain of carbon foot print. ‘Carbon footprint’ is amount of greenhouse gases that emits due to human activities which obviously includes ‘eating habits’. Almost every food we consume emits carbon gases in certain amount. But consumption of meat releases highest carbon gases as compared to other food products. The carbon hierarchy within meat is as follows-

Beef > lamb > pork> poultry.

According to Agriculture Organisation of United Nations (FAO) emission from global live stocks is estimated at 7.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide each year. Not only consumption but also food that we waste emits carbon gases. Decomposition of waste food is a long process and throughout this process certain amount of green house gases is released , thus, deteriorating the condition of our planet. According to FAO around 1.3 billion tons of food produced for human consumption are either lost or wasted every year.

So the question arises, how can we save our planet from further destruction ? Answer is quite simple — changing our diet. Planning our diet in a careful manner may create a huge impact not only globally but also in our individual health. Eating more leafy vegetables and cutting down meat consumption will surely contribute to a noble cause. We often ignore the food choices we make and try our best to satisfy our tummy. So next time before consuming food lets ask one question, is it good for my planet and my health? This simple question may change our future.