Diet and the Environment
Diet choices that are made with their environmental impact in mind have a significant effect. There are many different names and categories that describe these choices (see list below) and almost all of them encompass other sets of values and priorities too - like animal rights, local economic development, health, indigenous rights, and so on.
For example, people may choose a meatless diet for a variety of personal, religious or environmental reasons. Meat production, especially using industrial methods, generally does entail greater consumption of energy and water than growing plant crops using sustainable methods. A diet that is based on foods grown in our own region will generally have less adverse environmental impact than one heavily dependent on foods that are produced elsewhere and have to be transported long distances. The issue is complicated, however, and we need to encourage sustainable agricultural practices at home in order to optimize the benefits of local food choices.
Looking Closer
Here are some terms you may have come across, in relation to "environmentally-sustainable eating." Take a look at the pages in this section for more information, or contact us to learn more about the following terms and ideas and how they connect to the environment:
- Fair trade/Horizontal trade
- Free-range or free-run
- Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)-free
- Grass-fed meats
- Locally grown/100-mile diet
- Locally owned/sold/traded
- Naturally grown
- Organic (certified or non-certified, pesticide-free)
- Raw or unprocessed
- Terroir
- Vegetarian/Vegan
