Food Saves the Planet

Food Saves the Planet

Imagine our Planet (with everything inside and inside it) a complex machine; Think of the Vs car engine but much more complex. Within our Planet all our behavior, habit, character, activity (all in short) contributes to the bad or good functioning of this engine. As pieces of an engine, everything comes with its contribution.
Of these activities, behaviors, lifestyles, etc. Food, from production to the way we consume it, is one of the “pieces” that contributes to the good or bad functioning of this engine. This is to say that if this piece contributed to the malfunction of the engine it must be changed. Nothing is irreversible.
In a nutshell it takes a new project to rethink the use of Food and as Food is produced, transported and eaten, there are several disciplines that must converge with the single common multiple.
Additionally, for the duly complete information that the food, entering into our body, carries with us within itself the accumulated dynamics and frequencies (we call this characteristic overall salubrity). According to the scientists of the United States of Concerned Scientists, what is put in the table gives a fifth of the environmental impact of a media family. This means that only when you spend your money can you choose to exploit or vice versa to respect the environment. But what are the parameters to be considered to become sustainable consumers?

We see the 8 rules to produce a sustainable food.

1. Biological (or, in any case, natural production models) saves and even absorbs CO2. In addition to consuming less energy and emitting less greenhouse gases, organic farming (ie without the use of chemistry and ecological production models) works as a carbon tank: every hectare of this cultivated area absorbs a ton and a half of CO2. Fao, in the report “Organic Agriculture and Food Safety” writes that “the strengths of organic farming are independence from fossil fuels and relying on locally available production facilities. By intervening with natural processes, organic farming increases the resistance of ecosystems to difficult climatic conditions. ” Bio farms are also less affected because, thanks to the type of cattle diet and reduced crowding, they generate reduced emissions.
2. Seasonal Foods. For the conscious consumer to claim to eat all year long is anachronistic, as well as being expensive and tasty. Vegetables grown out of season, in fact, grow in heated greenhouses where, to artificially recreate ideal cultivation conditions, much energy and plenty of chemicals are needed, with unsustainable environmental costs. But there is worse. Often, even the most energetic greenhouses are not enough to provide us with what we want and so we are forced to import food from other countries. Products harvested in the “right” season are more tasty, rich in nutrients and beneficial active ingredients and less impact on the environment. They grow with natural atmospheric conditions, without forcing and waste of energy; In addition to undergoing less treatment with chemicals, they require less work with mechanical means and less energy expenditure. Adding to this is the healthy aspect of periodic feeding (seasonal) that allows our body (and our internal organs) to “periodically” purify themselves from certain foods.
3. Short Filera. Foods coming from far away require complex and long transport chains, which makes them less sustainable. The so-called “short chain” is the one that connects farmers and consumers, reduces transport, packaging, and costs to the benefit of the environment. Crops grown in their geographic area, especially if they are organic, are therefore the choices of anti-noise spending to be preferred to contain carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, responsible for the greenhouse effect. It is also important to consider that foods that come from far away are only apparently fresh, in fact they are harvested acrid, stored in special modified atmosphere refrigerators, treated with pesticide gases, and lost most of their vitamin content and Their taste. Moreover, from an ecological point of view, producing food from balanced ecosystems (with a good relationship between the company’s production and the surrounding ecosystem) contributes to decreasing the alterations of parasitic biocenosis by allowing lesser use of anti-clotics and / or methods of Struggle “little orthodox”.
4. Less flesh helps the environment. According to the University of Stockholm studies, a meal with meat and other import ingredients generates nine times the CO2 of a vegetarian meal prepared with local foods. This is because every pound of meat eats “ten” of cereals and fodder by consuming a quantity of soil ten times greater than that required for the calorific equivalent of a vegetable diet. Production of one kilogram of meat, on average, emits 30.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent in the atmosphere, while the same amount of legumes average emission is 26 times lower. And the water consumption per kilogram of meat is 15,500 liters versus 100 liters, an average of one pound of vegetables. Finally, cattle bait emits a considerable amount of methane and nitrogen oxide, harmful greenhouse gases. For the correctness of information, this data refers mainly to intensive breeding. Therefore, it must be added that the presence of animals in our farms is crucial (to close the cycle of organic matter without which desertifying soil), but it must be guaranteed according to a proper livestock load.
5. Packs, no thanks. Whenever possible, it is always better to buy food that is not packaged. In fact, envelopes and packaging have an environmental impact not to be underestimated, and according to recent studies, they contain potentially harmful chemicals that can easily migrate into foods. If the packaging is indispensable, we will be careful to choose it in recycled material, bio-plastic or certified paper by sustainable forest management, designed to save space and raw material. To this end, the legislation on packaging of agro-food products should be reviewed, allowing a drastic reduction in packaging and packaging.
6. Fresh is better than preserved and transformed. It is best to always read the labels carefully and to buy less processed foods and less additives. The more a food has been treated, flavored, colored or irradiated, the more it is poor in nutrients and rich in potentially harmful additives. In addition, the energy consumption required for fresh food production is lower. Adding to this is the indirect costs (which is a bit for the entire food chain) for ill-induced illnesses that exorbitantly affect health spending and thus contribute to increasing CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions .
7. Use of transportation and machine intelligently. Spending, often, is often done by car, especially if you are living in an area away from the shops. To less pollution and save time, we try to plan the exit for our purchases by combining it with some other commitment for which the car is required. We prepare a shopping list to avoid having to go back and buy something you forgot to buy. And if we have nice neighbors, or friends aligned with our times, we do carpooling with them to our trusted reseller.
8. Food Preparation. One of the causes of incredible energy expenditure (and therefore CO2 emissions) is food preparation in food. A crude diet naturally saves you considerably combustible gases or electric resistances of your cookers. Usually, the health concept is also added here as it is shown that unproven or non-overcooked foods contribute to a definitely healthier diet and greatly diminishes the use of medicines and health care.

It is clear that in order to safeguard our planet, but I would add, to ensure a more dignified and more prosperous way, there are three actions:

1. Political Action. A general reflection on the agro-food chain: from the moment of production (Agricultural Policies) at the time of consumption. Often, to date, politics and bureaucracy have acted in disconnected mode and above all with a very worrying cognitive impairment. A new political and technocratic consciousness must be stressed, but above all some tax models need to be reconsidered, contributing to the decline of the famous “Ecological Footprint”, of which so much is spoken but of which little is done in concrete terms.
2. Disclosure Action. Above all, public information must take on the task, through a targeted, clear and independent political (quite complex) project to set up a comprehensive information and dissemination system that involves all aspects of society, both economically and ageless . Every citizen must feel active and vital in the food chain.
3. Educational Action. From family to school, the food chain must become a matter of teaching and learning. Specific, detailed programs are being implemented, which primarily contribute to the civic consciousness of a new citizen’s model.
   The world has become global and the resolution of planetary consciousness is something that belongs to us all, to the most extreme boundaries.

Guido Bissanti