Resilient Agriculture, Resilient Bodies Pt. 1
/As most of you know by now, the US pulled out of the Paris Agreement last week. We were disappointed to hear this news because we believe that any effort on a worldwide, national, state, local or individual level, to mitigate the impact of climate change and pursue renewable resources is the direction we absolutely must go. Though this is certainly a disheartening decision by our country, it's important to remember that lasting change starts with us! A positive thing that has come of this is the conversations we've been having about personal action and how we can enter into a deeper level of consciousness when it comes to our relationship with the earth and its natural resources. With that in mind, we've decided to write a two part blog for folks considering diet, nutrition, and agricultural lifestyle changes to reduce personal consumption of natural resources. The first part of the blog is simply about introducing some basic information about farming and waste, and the second part is discussing our personal journey and some tips we've learned along the way.
Meat, Fruits, and Veggies
Don't stop reading! We're not going to ask you to give up meat. We are not vegetarians. Just follow me here as we're simply introducing information. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported that 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions is attributed to livestock (2013). Simply put, raising livestock, processing it, and transporting it across the US (and world) uses an incredible amount of our natural resources such as water, oil, and land. When we first heard about the livestock industry's impact on climate change we were floored. We did some digging into the research and found that some studies report that reducing meat consumption is more impactful than reducing car pollution. We've read several studies that recommend a food demand management for reducing the impact of climate change. Essentially, if we keep eating the way we are eating then big agriculture companies will continue to call for land and agricultural expansion, leading to more biodiversity loss. If you are interested in food demand management, click here.
Some of you may be surprised to learn that vegetable production (even organic) can be very similar in its degradation of the land and energy waste. Our veggies often travel a great distance from farm to plate and use up a significant amount of natural resources along the way. Don't get us wrong, fruits and veggies are such an integral part of the human diet and should be easily accessible and affordable to us all, so we'd never recommend giving them up! It's just that with terms like "local, organic, and farm fresh" being loosely tossed around these days, it can be hard to know who to trust, what to believe, and how to act. If you are interested in learning more about sustainable agriculture, click here, and to learn more about land degradation and the path forward, click here
If you have gone down the path of changing your diet before, you've likely found that agricultural practices are vital to our health and nutrition. The way we treat our bodies and our land is deeply connected. So, if you are considering a journey of nutrition, lifestyle, diet, agriculture changes, we'd encourage you to stay tuned for part two. Our next blog will address more integrated, conscious, and spiritual ways to consume these nutrient rich (and highly essential) products while reducing your personal impact on climate change.
Booth and Britt
