Food for Thought

by Anna Danso-Amoako




Before, during or after reading this article you will come into contact with one of the most needed substances throughout our lifetimes.

Food.

It is a topic which graces our headlines frequently but what actually are the biggest issues surrounding food today? Well, I hope you stick through my three course meal of what I consider to be the most important topics concerning food  today and come away a little bit fuller of food’s impact on our bodies’, our society and our world.

Firstly, it is almost impossible to think about modern day eating without acknowledging the obesity epidemic we are currently living through. Now, in every part of the world with the only exceptions including sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, there are more people who are obese than are normal weight . In the UK alone there were 10,660 admissions yearly to hospitals primarily due to obesity. The consequences of obesity are too dangerous to ignore as it has been directly linked to an increased risk of developing both psychological and physical conditions, the most worrying of which include a higher chance of developing cancer.

We recognise that increasing obesity is the product of change in lifestyles and  change in the type of food and amount of food we eat. Due to technological advancements we are able to meet the demand of food needed to feed our ever growing population however the food we supply is increasingly unhealthy. It is becoming  a deadly mix of artificial additives mixed into highly processed food creating a questionable quality at best.we are noticing  words in ingredient lists getting longer by the day. While some are widely known for their adverse effects, such as High Fructose Corn Syrup, found in food from cereals to fizzy drinks, causing weight gain and inflammation, while others are deemed not as serious. Now consider the nightmare of many artificial food colouring known to cause hyperactivity in children added to  highly sugary sweets and the stress on parents and teachers to calm them when needed.


Humans are nothing if not resourceful though, so it is easy to say that we could possibly find natural alternatives to all the artificial additives in our foods in the near future which we are beginning to see, as you are very much  aware, we are in the middle of a climate crisis. Our planet is warming, melting and being covered in a worrying amount of pollution. All global attention is focused on how best to reduce or mitigate the resulting adverse impacts . We pledge to recycle and reduce our plastic usage yet are are we willing as a global  community to make the drastic step to reduce the 21 to 37% of greenhouse gases contributed by our food systems alone? The main culprit is livestock however it does not mean that all meat production is unsustainable. Steps have been taken, for example, using land  of low value farming potential for animal husbandry . The best case scenario for us as everyday people who may already eat meat is to  reduce our consumption while looking for better and healthier alternatives and staying mindful  our food choices on our world. A stark recent reminder is the Amazon fires and its  link to unsustainable food production.

The takeaway from this three course meal: we are what we eat but also our choices in turn, eat at our world.

Bon Appétit!



Sources


Comments