Eat these to save the world! Sustainable foods – from Seaweed to Venison

Sustainable foods

Do you have what it takes to save the world? Well, if you’re talking about supernatural powers, it would be impossible to have one, but there are other ways to save our planet – one of them is by the food you eat. 

When we talk about sustainable eating, it involves selecting healthy foods for our bodies and the environment. This means foods that provide a balanced diet for the body but also facilitate the conservation of the domain. These are foods grown and processed in a manner that does not harm the environment or compromise their ability to meet the needs of future generations.

Here are some tips for Eating Sustainably:

Diversify your diet

Despite the fact that many people rely on only a few types of foods to fill their diets, you can easily get more nutrients by diversifying the foods you eat, so you can eat more. As an example, rather than just relying on beef for your protein source, you can also add omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, and antioxidants to your body by using other sources of protein, such as fish and legumes.

Increase your intake of plant-based foods

People are now opting for diets containing plant-based foods, such as nuts, beans, and vegetables, more than at any other time in history, due to the fact that plant-based foods have been shown to be healthier than animal-based foods. People are taking inspiration from Asian communities such as Malaysia and China that largely rely on plant-based foods to feed themselves.

There are many Mediterranean communities that have also mastered the art of making plant-based foods with impressive flavors as well as improved health, such as pasta, stew, and tagines that can be found throughout the region.

Producing your own food

A garden that grows its own food eliminates the need to transport food over long distances using a car that releases emissions into the atmosphere. Using your own crops as a source of food will also help you eliminate some of the carbon dioxide that is present in the atmosphere through the use of your food crops.

In order for you to grow your own food, you do not necessarily need to have a lot of space. You can use a greenhouse or even a small balcony in order to grow kale, tomatoes, onions, and herbs. You can also use a window box to grow food crops in pots on your balcony.

Growing some of your own food can help you save money on grocery bills, as well as protect you from harmful chemicals that are applied to crops during the process of producing and processing them.

Don’t waste food

In today’s society, it is estimated that about 30% of the food purchased by the average household is thrown out. This waste of resources and money is a waste of both. To reduce waste, it is advisable to carefully evaluate your family’s food needs and only purchase enough quantity in order to reduce wastage. In addition, you should consider the option of using food preservation methods like drying or cooling.

You can apply these tips to the food list below which promotes sustainability and fulfillment in our bodies as well. Don’t forget to add this to your grocery list along with any other items that promote sustainability and fulfillment in our bodies.

Grass-fed beef and lamb

Holden makes a compelling case for eating these meats as one of the earliest proponents of regenerative agriculture, one of the earliest proponents of regenerative farming, produces a list of meats that are complex, controversial, and surrounded by caveats. 

Although soil serves as a valuable carbon sink for humans, the separation of crops and livestock farming has resulted in half of the country becoming dependent on artificial fertilizers, which reduce organic matter and microbial diversity, leading to the leaching of carbon. In order to offset livestock emissions, farmers can rotate livestock with crops in order to build soil carbon and make the most of grass, a plant that we cannot eat.

It has been proven that red meat is highly nutritious if consumed in moderation. The nutrients in red meat also enhance the absorption of nutrients in vegetables.

Oats

Though oats are often portrayed as the silver bullet of sustainability, there is a strong case for eating them. However, they aren’t the silver bullet they’re sometimes portrayed as. For example, they aren’t a nutritional replacement for dairy, and are just as damaging if they are grown intensively as any other monoculture crop. Nevertheless, if they are grown without using artificial chemicals, in a way that is friendly to the ecosystem, eating them should be encouraged as well.

It can be grown in high altitudes, and they are excellent ‘break crops’, i.e. crops that can be sown in between harvests for replenishing the soil. Due to their suitability to the British climate and their potential to replace the imported American maize we consume at breakfast, they can, and possibly should, replace the imported corn from the United States.

Locally grown vegetables (fresh, fermented, or pickled)

We There seems to be a lot of talk about agriculture, but it is horticulture that needs to be increased and invested in – as well as knowledge about seasonality to be imparted to our community. 

It is not the answer to grow strawberries in heated plastic tunnels in February; rather, it is important to combine fresh, seasonal produce with produce preserved from previous seasons. Try to keep your supply chain as short as possible: fruit and vegetables are extremely heavy and watery, so they make transportation highly inefficient. Those who cannot grow their own food should try out the local farmers market, vegetable box scheme, or community garden; while those who must buy in supermarkets should avoid buying out of season. 

Mussels and other bivalves

Nutrient-dense and adept at sequestering carbon and purifying seawater, bivalves are up there with seaweed when it comes to sustainability points. These mollusks – oysters, mussels, clams, and scallops – thrive on microscopic organic matter, including agricultural runoff; so their cultivation transforms waste into carbon storage and delicious food. Farming mussels is simply a question of lowering ropes into the sea. They attach themselves to the ropes. You don’t have to feed them. You come back in two and a half years and then harvest them. Nature sustains itself.

Pulses

Like red meat, pulses are a nutrient-dense food, so if we move to the kind of farming system where we are using livestock in a crop rotation, they can supplement the protein from meat, where there is a limit to the amount we can and should be producing. Then there’s their ability to self-fertilize the soil, through root nodules containing bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. 

This means that, even if they aren’t grown organically, legumes don’t need any artificial fertilizer, which degrades the soil while the nodules also increase organic matter within the soil by feeding microbial life which, when it dies, “ensures carbon is locked in”. 

Seaweed

Among the many plants that deserve to be called “superfoods”, one of the most notable is seaweed, which is highly nutritious and beneficial to the environment as well. As any plant will do, seaweed will absorb carbon dioxide, but it will also help reduce acidification in the ocean, allowing microorganisms and marine life to thrive as a result. Seaweed also depends on nitrogen and phosphate to grow, so if agricultural runoff is present in an area, seaweed could be grown there and converted into nutrients that are otherwise unsuitable.

Venison

It is the meat of venison that is rich in nutrient content because it is derived from grass, foraged plants, and trees that humans cannot consume. Additionally, there is an abundance of deer in the UK because there are no longer any predators in the country, and since the deer population is regularly culled so it does not outweigh the supply of wild vegetation and encroach on farmland, it is available in abundance.

Sources:

  1. What is sustainable food a guide to eating more sustainably I National Clean Technologies Conference (nctce.com.au)
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/29/eat-this-to-save-the-world-the-most-sustainable-foods-from-seaweed-to-venison 

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