Hipster Foods That Are Killing the Planet

The - HIPSTER-HEALTHY Foods That Are KILLING the Planet THE GOOD, THE FAD & THE UGLY Wait, what? As food trends go, healthy food is currently having a pretty good run. Delicious and nutritious foods like avocados, quinoa, soya, almond milk and various organic foods have never been more popular and as such are increasingly easy to source in the supermarket. But as demand for these foods soars, what impact are they having on our planet? Avocado, Mexico Soya, Coconuts, Quinoa, Peru & Bolivia Bananas, Various N & S America Asia THE AVOCADO AKA "Green Gold" Nutrient-rich, avocados are a great source of vitamins C, E, K and B6. Research suggests that the fat in avocados can protect against heart disease and lower blood pressure. Main Avocado Growjng Regions The USA imported 1.9 million tonnes of avocados in 2017. Six times as many as in 2001! 40% of the world's avocados The UK is the fifth-biggest consumer of avocados in the world, importing 384,000 tonnes in 2017 come from Mexico Holy 5.57m tonnes! Guacaiole! 2.79m tonnes As a planet, we now produce and consume twice as many avocados as we did in 2001. That's a lot of dip! 2001 2017 Why Are Avocados Evil? Okay, so they're not evil, but they do use a lot of water, compared to other fruits and vegetables. Which means in drought-hit areas like Mexico and California, this can add to an already serious problem. 370 litres 210 litres In California, it takes about 370 litres to grow just 500g of avocados. That's approximately three fruits! 55 litres That's nearly 8x more water than tomatoes need. 49 litres 44 litres Elsewhere Cartels And that's just California and There are also more serious Mexico. Avocados from Chile problems with growing such a (now the main exporter of lucrative crop. Much of Mexican avocados to China) can require farm land is now controlled by drug up to 30% more water to create cartels, who make farmers and the same harvest. This also has a landowners hand over a percentage knock-on effect to other farmers of their income, murdering those and their crops. who refuse. QUINOA AKA "Peruvian Gold" Nutrient-rich, gluten-free, high in | fibre and contains all nine essential amino acids. Main Quinoa Growing Regions The USA imported 33,460 tonnes of quinoa in 2017. Ten times more than in 2007! Together, Peru and Bolivia produce about 95% of the world's quinoa 149k tonnes! Un-Bolivia-ble! 46k tonnes As a planet, we now produce and consume three times as much quinoa as we did in 2001. That's Inca-redible! 2001 2017 Why All the Quinoa Hating? It's a delicious food, but its popularity in recent years has caused quinoa prices to more than triple since 2006. This has pushed the local farmers (who have been growing quinoa for seven centuries) out of the marketplace. Diet Change As the market price of quinoa increases, locals have started replacing it in their diet with cheaper, less nutritious foods, including fast food. THE SOYA BEAN AKA "The Wonder Bean" A good source of fibre, low in saturated fat, high in protein and contains all nine essential amino acids. Main Soya Bean Growing Regions China grows only 4% of the world's soya bean crop, but is the world's biggest importer (60%) 50% of the world's soya beans are grown in South America 34% of the world's soya beans are grown in the US Soy Many Beans 347m tonnes! 220m tonnes As a planet, we now produce 60% more soya beans than we did ten years ago. What's 'bean' going on? 2007 2017 What Makes Soya Beans Bad? Okay, here's the thing: of the 347 million tonnes (2017) we produce every year, as much as 90% of it goes into animal feed. So whilst our taste for soya is on the increase, it's actually our demand for cheap meat that is fueling its expansion. Sadly, it's the South American rainforests that are paying the price to meet this demand: Estimated Area Cleared for Soya Growing in the Brazilian Rainforest An area roughly half the size of the UK Approx 500,000 hectares 1995 2005 2017 Deforestation Globally, 300 million hectares of tropical rainforests have been lost to soya plantations over the last two decades. These vast monocultures are heavily sprayed with pesticide, kill biodiversity and contribute to soil erosion. The List Goes n.. Bananas Coconuts As well as the heavy use of Farmers in Indonesia, the Philippines pesticides in their production, and India have started clearing ethylene gas is also used to mangrove forests to keep up with artificially ripen bananas as they the demand for coconut-based are shipped around the world. This, and the great distances they products. The knock-on effect is more rapid coastal erosion, which travel, all adds to the banana's can have devastating results sizeable carbon footprint. during typhoons and tsunamis. Dark Chocolate Chocolate has a Chocolate has been The cocoa industry has massive carbon blamed for huge been widely criticised for footprint (a single deforestation in Africa employing an estimated 200g bar of chocolate (80% of Ghana's 2 million children, is equivalent to driving working for less than a dollar a day. rainforest has been your car 4.9 miles). cleared since 1960). Peanut Butter Almonds In this case, it's not the peanuts that are the problem. No, our It's a fairly worrying fact that almonds and pistachios are second beef is with the palm oil in only to beef cattle when it comes peanut butter, derived from the to water consumption. African Oil Palm Tree. In fact, almonds require more An estimated 300 football fields water to grow than sheep, goats, of rainforest are cleared each pigs and chickens! hour to make way for new palm Considering California's almond trees, threatening local species crop has quadrupled in the last 30 like orangutans who, at this rate, years, it's not great news for the could become extinct in the wild within 5 years. drought-stricken state. Sources: Brought to you by: www.theguardian.com www.telegraph.co.uk www.statista.com www.linkedin.com CDA www.bbcgoodfood.com blog.tridge.com www.medicalnewstoday.com www.motherjones.com www.authenticfoodquest.com www.fao.org www.dailymail.co.uk www.meghantelpner.com www.independent.co.uk www.mindbodygreen.com www.friendsoftheearth.uk Buit for your life www.iflscience.com www.worldatlas.com www.sopa.org www.cda.eu