Adapt Lifestyles
Make it Sustainable
Better diets offer a win-win: a cleaner, water friendly environment …
The way beef cattle are currently raised is hard on the environment.
Need 28 times more land and 11 times more water than pigs or poultry, leading to greater deforestation in countries such as Brazil.
Providing grain for feedlot animal fodder requires land which could be used to feed humans directly and more efficiently.
Industrial farming of beef and pork results in manure that can’t be absorbed by the land, increasing atmospheric nitrogen and phosphorous, and polluting waterways.
However, putting cows back on the land as part of regenerative agriculture presents an alternative model.
Fish farms face similar issues, often polluting with leftover feed, feces, antibiotics and hormones, while farmed fish pathogens infect wild fish. Improved siting away from wild fish migration routes and better feed science are critical.
Vegetables are equally problematic when farmed in degraded soil, requiring chemical supplements and imported water.
… and a healthier lifestyle.
Industrial farming’s antibiotics use leads to reduced drug efficacy in humans; other additives may be carcinogenic as well.
Diets heavy in preserved or feedlot meat & processed foods (e.g. sugar, refined carbs) raise cancer and heart disease risks.
Grass-fed meat costs more, but is likely a lot less harmful
Substituting fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes for processed meats supplies protein at a lower cost with fewer side effects.
There’s also overwhelming evidence of the health benefits from even moderate exercise (e.g. twenty minutes, 3-4 times a week).
Tantalising innovations could transform agriculture by releasing land for re-greening, but we can’t wait.
Insights from RethinkX - Precision Fermentation releasing >40% of US Land.
