Sustainable Nutrition and its Role in Fighting Climate Change

We’ve all heard of sustainable energy and resources, but what about sustainable nutrition? The idea of trying to recreate global food systems and diets is a rising thought in the climate change issue. Nutritionists as well as climatologists have recognized the importance of shifting to a more sustainable approach to fighting global hunger and mitigating the effects of climate change.

 HOW DOES SUSTAINABLE NUTRITION HELP MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE?

There are two primary ways that sustainable nutrition can help recover the ground lost to climate change. The primary effect of a more sustainable approach is it allows for better allocation of natural resources in food production. Agriculture around the world, much of it large-scale, is causing many of the adverse side effects of climate change. A secondary positive impact sustainable nutrition can have is keeping more people around the world healthier for longer in their lives, easing the strain on healthcare systems, and lowering the amount of resources devoted to caring for people with nutrition or related health problems.

The world’s agriculture system is by and large inefficient in its ability to feed large and diverse populations and in its allocation of natural resources. Farms, particularly large-scale farming, also contribute to deforestation and the loss of habitats for many wild species the world over. Most climatologists cite agriculture as the leading cause of climate change around the world. Agriculture uses about 70% of the world’s freshwater and adds about 30% of the total greenhouse gases that have been added to the atmosphere over the past 150 years.

HOW WILL SUSTAINABLE DIETS HELP?

Sustainable diets help people maintain a wide range of nutrients in their diets, which leads to fewer health interventions. Supporting sustainable agriculture will help reduce the world’s dependence on large-scale agriculture that contributes so much to ecosystem destruction.

Sustainable nutrition is the future of battling climate change.

Source: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sustainability/