Topic for December "Sustainable Table" is a great topic because it attracts all environment stakeholders since food connect us all. When the topic was announced I had a meeting with my fellow Environment Friend Club members and chose it to be our topic of discussion to share on sustainable table. Below is summarised discussion notes from our club meetings. 

The million dollar question was "How food and environment related?". Firstly we agreed that food comes from the environment. Fruits comes from trees either domestic or wild which basically constitute the environment.  Anything that comes into our mouth either raw or processed have a nexus with the environment thus food and environment are related. 

The second question was, "Is this relationship sustainable" and the answer we agreed after a debate was yes if it is supported with environmental responsibility. Agricultural activities affect the environment in different ways such as deforestation,  effects of pesticide and fertilisers.  

In a case study scenario which a member suggested was shifting cultivation practices in the northern parts of Zimbabwe where people cut down trees, slash grass and burn it with a bid to fertlise the soil for farming and after some years they move on to another land. Shifting cultivation is simply deforestation which affects wildlife and vegetation. In defence of this practice a member said they will move on later thus they are ecosystem friendly giving time for the environment to rehabilitate itself. With the population rise will they be reforested and survive many years, food for thought. 

Command agriculture and subsided agriculture from the government lead to monoculture which is simply growing one crop over a period of time without rotating. In Zimbabwe we grow maize since it is our staple food and the demand for it is inelastic. Monoculture lead to soil infertility and pests which needs pesticides and artificial fertilisers which affects the environment in negative way. Water supply and natural wildlife is greatly affected. 

We moved on to secondary level production,  the food industrial production affect the environment through pollution.  Air pollution and water pollution are the two types of pollution pointed out by the members to be outcomes of the food manufacturing and processing industry. In snack manufacturing chemicals are deposited into a river in an industry which affects water living animals and the humans at large.

Another pointed issue in Zimbabwe is hunting which have triggered the disappearance of forests and velds. Mice catching in Zimbabwe is a practice which have a negative impact on the land, the digging and starting veld fires to clear the environment. More so, fishing practices which uses chemicals and illegal practices leading to the depletion of water living animals and threating the existence of fish in rivers and dams.

To summarise on solutions that will have a positive impact on the threats to sustainability are vegetarian meals adaption,  introduction of new food practices and banning and regulation on gathering and processing of food. Further more the club members suggested the designing of foods that will be environmental friendly and environment friendly farming practices that are sustainable.