Water resources are growing scarce in Asia and experts say the primary culprit is changing diet. Increasing adoption of a western meat-based diet requires more than four times the amount of water to produce than tofu and ten times more than rice.
The traditional Asian diet receives a lot of attention in the United States because many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, are not as prevalent in Asia compared with the Western Hemisphere. Researchers believe that the traditional Asian diet provides protection against many chronic diseases and contributes to long life spans because it is mainly a plant-based diet consisting of locally grown staple grains, starchy roots, legumes, and other vegetables and fruits. Meat is treated as a side dish rather than the main course.
The trend towards fast food in emerging Asian markets is putting entire populations at risk. This trend is occurring in nations that never used to worry about diet-related disease, so experts around the world are sounding the alarm. Rich in meat—and laden with saturated fat, cholesterol, and artificial chemicals—the greasy and salty food typical of fast foods causes people to get fat and sick.
The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that food production will need to increase globally by 70% to feed the world's surging population in 2050. The FAO says that efficiency gains in agriculture will be overwhelmed by the expected population growth.
As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products, and which are increasingly being adopted around the world, are unsustainable.
Everyone is talking about "sustainable" solutions for a better planet. It has become a lucrative business for many companies to offer "sustainable" or "green" solutions. However, not all these solutions are as useful, or "sustainable" as one might think.
Natural foods, what are they, and why are they good for you? Unfortunately, there are no commonly agreed upon national or international standards that formally define and regulate "natural foods" or "all-natural foods." The natural products industry defines natural foods as foods that contain no hormones, antibiotics, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives that were not in the original food, and are foods that are minimally processed—either mechanically, chemically, or by temperature.
What is organic food and how does it help you improve your health and the environment?
The goal of organic agriculture is to produce foods using a natural and sustainable food production system that sustains our health and the health of soils and ecosystems. It does this by avoiding the use of harmful chemicals such as toxic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and by prohibiting the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), toxic sludge, irradiation, or other production methods that are harmful for the environment.
What we eat can cause or worsen diet-related illnesses and thus has a significant impact on our quality of life.
Virtually all the major scientific and medical institutions in the world agree that the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, obesity, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes, among other diseases is linked to a meat-based diet consisting of highly processed foods laden with fats and artificial ingredients. These institutions further agree that the risk is greatly reduced by adopting a healthy low-fat, high-fiber diet.
What makes it wrong, and the idea of it even repulsive, to eat a pet, but okay to slaughter other animals and put them on the dinner table or in our children’s lunch box? Our pets earn a special place in our hearts and often are treated as members of the family. Great efforts and expense are taken to see that they are kept safe, well-nourished, comfortable and happy.
What we choose to eat is one of the most significant factors in the personal impact we have on the environment and the fastest path to climate change. A recent study examining the impact of a typical week’s eating showed that plant-based diets are better for the environment than those based on meat. A vegan organic diet had the smallest environmental impact while the single most damaging foodstuff was beef. All non-vegetarian diets require significantly greater amounts of environmental resources such as land and water.
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