Food with Impact

Most people know, as a general fact, that red meat is not really beneficial to one’s overall health. It has been linked to many chronic diseases particularly cardiovascular disease and in some cases even cancer. Nonetheless, as a nation we continue to increase our red meat consumption while increasing the mortality rate at the same time.

After reading through Dr. Dean Ornish’s article Holy Cow! What’s good for you is good for our Planet, there were some interesting observations that I had never really considered. For example, I had not contemplated the carbon footprint produced by our consumption of red meat. It seems like a rather simple task to pull up to a drive-thru and order a hamburger with fries and maybe even a classic shake. However, a single “quarter-pounder with cheese takes twenty-six ounces of petroleum and leaves a thirteen pound carbon footprint” which is equivalent to burning seven pounds of coal (Ornish). That seems outrageous, yet we partake in this ritual every day.

The earth was simply not made to provide resources for the amount of livestock we currently have. Another environmental factor to our large consumption of red meat is the amount of greenhouse gases produced from the animal agriculture industry. By covering approximately thirty percent of the earth’s surface, livestock have a huge influence on the quality of the atmosphere. Especially as Americans, we focus more on our satisfaction than the impact that our consumerism has on the natural world. Deforestation of the rainforests is a well-known issue, however it is not only happening to further industrialization, but also to clear land for livestock to graze (Ornish). Some may think of this as an even exchange- nature for nature- but it is not the way that ecosystem was created to function.

Nonetheless, sometimes there are beneficial effects to the foods we consume without realizing it. There are many aspects to the coconut that, even recently, have shown interesting advances in medical science. Last month the results from an experiment conducted at the University of Kerala in Kerala, India were published. The researchers were testing the effects of tender coconut water on rats with high fructose diets (Bhagya et al. 2012). Coconut water is different than coconut milk as it is the clear liquid produced from unripe coconuts (Benefits of Coconut Water). In the test, the rats were fed a high fructose diet for three days and then treated with the tender coconut water for three weeks. The results showed that the rats treated with the coconut water had reduced levels of triglycerides and lower blood pressures than the rats which were not treated. In the end this suggests that coconut water treatment might be able to prevent or possibly even “reverse high blood pressure induced by [a] high fructose diet (Bhagya et al. 2012).”

In addition to its ability to hydrate more than most other beverages and the high level of electrolytes, coconut water has also been known to be a substitute for blood plasma in extreme situations. The sterility of the water and the ideal pH levels allow this to be possible (Listverse).

It’s so easy for us to simply consume our food without considering the impact they have on the natural world. We have industrialized everything to the point that we can no longer see what it was originally designed for. Nevertheless, science continues to try to decipher these secrets and apply them to everyday life now, in this day and age.

Benefits of Coconut Water
Coconut Water Experiment: Kerala, India

Listverse