The food supply in early Taiwan was extremely limited and many people were generally left without enough food. As a result, people liked to greet each other with “Did you have your meal yet?” as a way of exchanging loving kindness and friendship. Now most people are amply fed, so more and more people are shifting their attention towards food issues like how to make the food healthy and ecofriendly. Follow the suggestions below. You can also do something for the planet!。
Choose low carbon diet
Choose a diet that helps reduce carbon emissions.1 In fact, you can be of help to the earth if you pay enough attention to how the food is grown and discarded. For example, you can eat vegetable and fruit in season. Season vegetables or fruits grow strong and need less chemicals and fertilizers, as a result, it contains less toxic residues.
It is also important to buy the right amount. According to studies, as much as one third of food produced annually worldwide is discarded before eaten. About one fourth of it is enough to feed the hungry people worldwide.2 So, think twice before you put another pack of potatoes in your shopping bag.
Support fair trade food
Fair trade is a social movement with the stated goals of eliminating exploitation and promoting appropriate rewards to farmers. Thanks to the popularity of fair trade coffee, now fair trade has become a well-received idea. For instance, two chefs in Peru buy potatoes from small farms and turn the produce into various cuisines and sweets. They not only create new potato recipes but also help increase the income of potato farmers of small-scale operation.3 In this example, we can see that professional chefs can contribute to social change if they work hand in hand with farmers and consumers.
Think twice before buying GMO’s
Genet ical ly modi f ied crops used to be regarded as the best solution to food shortage. However, most people only got to know about the environmental drawbacks of GMO’s when it was too late. Some scientists declare that modified crops show stronger resistance to diseases and pests, thus guarantee high yielding. According to this logic, it can be expected that the demand for pesticides should show a significant drop. Ironically, studies show that the use of pesticides in the United States in 2011 increased to an incredible amount of 183,000 tons! Based on this fact, choosing food from non-GMO sources should be better for your health and for the plant, too.。
Your every choice has an impact on our environment. “Choosing what to eat is also crucial in lowering environmental impact, even though it is a personal choice that seems to have nothing to do with other people. Cherishing every bite definitely makes you healthier and the world more beautiful.
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