Sustainable Food, Attainable Health

Eating for ecosystems means eating for planetary and environmental health, as well as for community and personal health. It's all intertwined. That can sound intimidating, but let's relax. The big issues can motivate us to take whatever little steps we can. Besides, food should be enjoyable, and food that's healthy for the planet and ourselves can be even more enjoyable.

Guidelines for sustainability don’t need to apply to every bite and every meal. But over time our choices will better contribute to ecological health if they are:

(1) organic;
(2) minimally processed;
(3) local and small-scale;
(4) low on the food chain.

Ideally, our foods are also not ‘GMOs’ or genetically modified organisms. Foods that satisfy those criteria nourish the earth by limiting the chemicals on our soils and in our diets. These foods nourish our communities by supporting regionally-owned and controlled farms and businesses that emit fewer greenhouse gases and that are less polluting, more ecologically integrated, more biodiverse, and more humane to livestock than are most industrial agri-businesses. To eat ecologically in these ways, we need specific strategies. This website will help.

The meat issue is so important that it deserves its own discussion.

Most of us eat more animal foods than is good for the environment or our health. Large-scale meat consumption needs large-scale production. That means factory farms, which are not only ethically problematic but ecologically untenable in the long term. Cutting back on your intake of animal foods — mostly meat, but dairy too — can help climate stability by decreasing greenhouse gases, and can help stop pollution of our precious water supplies.

Eating less meat can fight disease pandemics, which are exacerbated by factory farming. Consuming smaller amounts can make it less likely you’ll suffer from obesity, heart disease, and other illnesses.

Limiting your intake of animal foods is one of the most effective steps we can take for the environment, for ourselves, and for others. Why and how to eat less meat is one focus of my current work, which you can read about here.

Ecological public health is a new paradigm being promoted by Professor Tim Lang and his colleagues at City University in London, England, my mentors in Food Policy. They’re at the forefront of an international movement for sweeping changes in agriculture and food systems, away from models focused narrowly on supply, and toward models emphasizing environmental, societal, community, and human health.

Current production systems churn out large amounts of food at low prices, but can harm the environment, encourage over-consumption of unhealthy foods, and – despite huge productive capacity – leave many people unfed. We can make enough food for everyone, yet the number of humans who are undernourished or starving recently surpassed one billion, according to the UN World Food Program.

From local to global, such pressing issues are all affected by food policy, which is not just theoretical. It’s the network of decisions at local, regional, national, and international levels that determines what food is available and what we’re likely to eat. Food policy is dynamic, and you can be part of it. This website and blog will keep you posted on some of the many current projects in food action and in food policy.