healthy us or healthy environment – is it a choice?
Almonds, almond oil and almond milk have all become very popular over the last few years. They have been said to help weight loss, be beneficial to those with diabetes and are also included in diets for those with lactose intolerance as a healthy alternative to cow’s milk. Then, on top of that, they are included in diets such as Paleo, Atkins and The Raw Food Diet. In fact, we have become really very interested in them.
However, like everything, when we over-consume a product, it places strains on the environment in which it is produced. We have spoken a lot about California and the drought it is experiencing due, in part to the growth of Alfalfa for the Chinese cattle feed export market, as well as the water used in the fracking process which has put pressure on the State’s water system. Almonds are another huge cause of this draught.
With a requirement for a trillion gallons of water a year, they are a thirsty crop. The pressure on the water supply is huge but so is the pressure to produce – 82% of the world’s almond supply is grown in California. The market for almonds is global with the USA, China & Asia Pacific and Europe being the top three destinations with 35%, 27% and 25% respectively.
Between 2007 and 2012 there was a 78% increase in the demand for almonds and most of it is driven by the perceived health benefits. People are trying, either by a full lifestyle change or by small steps, to eat healthier. This is despite the world ‘crrossing the malnutrition red line’ leaving China as the only country in the world which is not suffering from too much or too little nutrition.
So when we go to the shops, at least some of us are trying to look for items which we deem to be better for us – almond milk instead of cows milk, almond smacks rather than a bar of chocolate etc. We are constantly told that we should eat more healthily and we are trying to.
It is therefore a bit of a shock when we are told that our healthy choices are leaving another part of the world a desert. Is it really the case that agricultural and environmental sustainability cannot go hand in hand with healthy eating?
To help with this, The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) developed The Double Pyramid which plots the food pyramid against the environmental impact each food has. It goes some way to helping discern the effects your food choices will have on both you and the environment.
Eating healthily is important and will only get more so as our increased populations put pressure on our health care systems. However, it should not be done at the expense of the environment. Yes, almond milk is healthy, but it is not worth making California a desert over. Maybe it is time we thought about what we are doing to our food which makes people develop food intolerances. Are we doing something to our wheat to encourage gluten intolerance or something to our milk to encourage lactose intolerance?
The problem with almonds is that they are seen as a replacement to a product which is getting bad press and having a negative effect on a number of people. Might it be better to ask why these intolerances happen and how we could prevent them? That way, almonds could return to being a supplement rather than a substitute. Health and environment balanced.
Thanks for reading!
Please let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. You can follow our blog by clicking ‘follow’ in the right hand column or follow us on twitter @shrksuplychain
Like this:
Like Loading…
Related
Originally published at shrinkthesupplychain.com on November 17, 2014.
