[Thematic report]: The problem of foodby Oksana Zavaliy | 20-07-2020 18:43 |
|---|
|
Nowadays the food supply chain is responsible for 26% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Besides that, food industry affects soil and water by changing their chemical compound and amount of nutrients and minerals. It may cause changes in the food chain as certain species may have trouble adjusting to the new environment. Animal agriculture produces only 37% of protein and 18% of calories but takes up 83% of the world's farmland. All these factors make it obvious that the food industry has to be regulated in order to minimize its negative impacts. J. Poore and T. Nemecek suggest several ways to do it. The obvious one involves us, consumers. Switching to a plant-based diet can result in reduction of food's land use, decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and reduction of negative impacts on soil and fresh water. Being a responsible consumer and choosing low-impact products (e.g. choosing poultry over beef) would also benefit greatly. However, producers must also take action in order to solve this problem. It is difficult to make up a list of rules that every food company or farm in the world should follow. Every region and every type of agriculture have their own characteristics that should be taken into consideration. Food companies should monitor the impacts of their business to prevent harmful consequences. To my mind, government should incentivize food producers to lower their negative impact. It is fruitless to wait for commercial companies to change their ways since they have no interest in doing so. We need to enact laws that will make environmental practices more appealing to food suppliers and provide them with different ways to reduce their negative impacts. |
