Here’s some food for thought
From avocados to chocolate, the production of some of your favourite things could be contributing to global woes. Sharon Stephenson reports.
If 2018 was the year that officially turned plant-based foods, coconut everything and fermented and gut friendly foods mainstream, then last year was all about cannabis/ CBD-infused drinks and globally inspired breakfast dishes.
So what will we be eating this year? Experts are betting West African cuisine will be hot, along with vegan spreads, zucchini noodles and alternative flours. If you’re concerned about eating sustainably and ethically – with a looming environmental crisis, experts say we should be – then it can get confusing.
Consumers have more information than ever, but a plethora of labels, conflicting studies and reports make it difficult to track foods whose production has contributed to drought or deforestation, exploited or injured workers and animals, or the decline of species. Here’s a round-up of some foods to be aware of.
Avocados
Heard of blood diamonds? Well how about blood avocados? Mexico is the king of the world’s avocado production and most of that is in the state of Michoacan, controlled by drug cartels who often force formers and landowners to give up a percentage of their income – even murdering those who won’t pay. Avocados also contribute to droughts in places such as California and Chile. Because California is not naturally tropical, it takes 272 litres of water to grow just half a kilogram of avocados.
The solution? Buy New Zealand-grown avocados.
Whitebait
It’s been called ‘‘white gold’’ but stocks are running out of this delicacy. For a while now, Forest & Bird has been warning that whitebait stocks are at critical levels, thanks to habitat loss, weather and overfishing (it’s expected four out of five species will be extinct by 2050). It is calling for a ban on commercial sales so maybe this is the year we should put down the whitebait fritters and walk away.
Almonds
Speaking of a major water suck, those healthy snacks in your desk drawer have also been blamed for the droughts in California during the past few years. The sunshine state produces 82 per cent of the world’s almonds, many planted to meet the increasing global demand for almond milk. This year-round crop consumes about 8 to 10 per cent of California’s agricultural water supply.
Cashew nuts
Thanks to the rise in vegan foodstuffs such as plant-based milks, nut butters and cheese, cashew demand has gone through the roof. But cashews can be tricky to extract. Before you get to the fruit, you have to go through two hard shells, avoiding the harmful cardol and anacardic acid liquid they contain. As a result, workers in India and Vietnam who shell them by hand, often end up with burns to their hands. However, experts say peanuts are a naturally sustainable crop that uses little water.
Octopus
Countries such as Spain and Japan are raising octopuses in tanks, pens and large sea farms. But as scientists from New York University have pointed out, there are reasons we shouldn’t be doing this.
First, octopuses are some of the most complex and intelligent animals in the ocean. Farming them, say scientists, depends on tightly controlled environments that are anathema to the curious and active octopus, which is more likely to catch infections, become more aggressive and have a high mortality rate when reared in farmed conditions. Then there’s the environmental impact: scientists say the amount of feed needed to sustain and grow an octopus is three times the weight of the animal itself and risks putting further pressure on an already overexploited marine ecosystem.
Fish
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s ‘‘Red List’’ of endangered species, 1414 species of fish, or 5 per cent of the world’s known species, are at risk of extinction. While habitat loss and pollution are factors, the greatest threat is overfishing. Another ethical issue is a phenomenon known as ‘‘bycatch’’, where many animals not meant to be caught end up trapped. The UN estimates up to 25 per cent of all sea creatures are victims of by-catch, including up to 300,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Chocolate
Many big-brand bars contain palm oil, soy and cocoa. Palm oil is used in possibly every foodstuff, from margarine and sauces to crackers and baked goods. But palm oil plantations require huge deforestation, forcing families off their land and hurting species such as orang-utans. Thanks to palm-oil cultivation, Indonesia, which produces the most of the world’s palm oil, is one of the largest producer of greenhouse gases.
Soy also has its issues. In Brazil and Argentina, soyfarming is said to fuel deforestation, with almost 4 million hectares of forests in the Amazon and Gran Chaco destroyed every year.
As for cocoa, most comes from small growers in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, who can suffer when the price fluctuates. Deforestation also rears its ugly head, with 90 per cent of West Africa’s original forest gone.
Buy organic, local and as directly from the chocolate producer as you can.
Chicken
Putting aside the cruelty of raising animals in confinement and the slaughter methods, there’s the human health impact. Consumers who think switching from red to white meat is better may be fooling themselves, says US physician Dr Michael Greger, whose research found that the impact of beef on cholesterol isn’t necessarily much worse than that of poultry and fish. Also, poultry slaughterhouses have been shown to release waste into the environment, sometimes affecting drinking water.
Prawns
Large prawns – king and tiger versions – are farmed in warm waters in places such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Madagascar, where production is blamed for the destruction of mangrove swamps. Giant river prawns are particularly troublesome: their production has been shown to deplete wild stock. Experts suggest choosing smaller, cold-water prawns.
Quinoa
The increase in demand for this low-fat, high-protein grain has had a detrimental effect in Peru and Bolivia. The price of quinoa in Peru rose more than 500 per cent between 2005 and 2014. Now, the very people who’ve eaten quinoa for around seven centuries can no longer afford their staple cuisine and are reportedly turning to imported junk food.
Meat and dairy
There are around 270 million dairy cows in the world – including about 5 million in New Zealand – and their manure produces greenhouse gas emissions. Also, poor handling of manure and fertilisers can degrade water resources, while unsustainable dairy farming and feed production can ruin ecologically important areas, such as wetlands and forests.
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the impacts of their food choices, and are making changes. Research carried out by Colmar Brunton released in October found one in three New Zealanders (34 per cent) were reducing meat consumption or eating no meat at all.
Despite concerns around the production of certain plantbased products such as cashews, soy and almonds, there’s no discounting concerns about animal welfare and the huge impact of meat and dairy on the environment.
A 2016 Oxford study showed that the adoption of a vegan diet globally would cut food-related emissions by 70 per cent. A step too far? Then how about the EatLancet Commission’s recommendation to cut meat intake to the equivalent of just one beefburger a fortnight?