Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet and Sustainablity

The CSPI are also running a campaign to encourage Americans to eat greener :

Each day we’re fed over 1 billion pounds—and one trillion calories—of food. Our agricultural system consumes enormous quantities of fuel, fertilizers, and pesticides to produce the grains, meat and poultry, and fruits and vegetables that feed a country of nearly 300 million people. It consumes enormous tracts of land and quantities of water—not just for growing food for people, but for producing food for livestock. And ultimately, a diet so high in animal products and relatively low in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, ultimately consumes the consumer: Diet-related diseases account for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year.

Again, this is US based, but I think has lessons for us here in Australia. Eating a diet higher in plant based foods, having those five servings of vegies every day, eating fruit , leaner meats and less processed foods will positively impact both our health and also our environment.

There’s a quick questionnaire which scores your diet on it’s nutritional value and affect on animal welfare. You can check how changes in your diet will impact nutrition and the environment. Plus you can take a virtual tour of the food supply .

13 January, 2007