180 likes | 318 Views
Food for Thought: Exploring the dark side of our food. Dr Samarthia Thankappan Environment Department, University of York. Environment Department. Research at the Environment Department. Earth systems & environmental change. Ecosystems & society. Environmental Health.
E N D
Food for Thought: Exploring the dark side of our food Dr Samarthia Thankappan Environment Department, University of York
Research at the Environment Department Earth systems & environmental change Ecosystems & society Environmental Health Atmospheric pollution, pollution effects on soils and surface waters Pharmaceutical and veterinary products as pollutants and their entry to the food chain Marine Conservation, coastal management and past sea level changes, Society and Environmental Change Conservation, Sustainable livelihoods, Biodiversity and ecosystem services, sustainability issues within specific sectors
What would you pick? A C B D
What would you pick? A C B E F D
Eating: What choices do we have? • Highly processed food • Meat-based food • Vegetarian food • Vegan food • Organic food • Local food • Fairly traded food
Global meat consumption (kg/person/year) Luxembourg -136.73 USA- 122.7 Spain- 111.7 Canada – 98.8 Ireland -92.7 Argentina – 91.4 Germany – 87.8 United Kingdom – 85.5 Greece – 75.7 Russia – 60.8 China -53.4 India -3.2
Harmful health effects: Obesity High blood pressure Heart disease Cancer Sleep Apnea Acid Reflux Diabetes
Environmental cost of meat production Water Consumption Fuel Consumption Water Pollution Deforestation Decrease in staple crops for less developed nations Food safety/antibiotic resistant bacteria
Water requirements 140 litres of water Enough water to fill your mug 777 times 200 litres of water Enough water to fill a rain barrel 40 litres of water Enough water to fill a fish tank 5700 litres of water Enough water to fill a large overhead tank 15000 litres of water Enough water to fill a small swimming pool
Deforestation • Livestock is the #1 cause of deforestation in Latin America • Seventy percent of previous forested land in the Amazon is occupied by cattle pastures and crops for animal feed
Food safety issues 359 Human Deaths
Ethical reasons 60 billion land animals are slaughtered everyday Queuing them 30 times between earth and the moon Distance between earth and the moon : 384403 Km
Food Security • 756 million tons of grain used for feeding animals worldwide • 6.7 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK every year