Reflections on Daily Food Consumption

Looking at my daily food consumption has been both an eye-opener as well as a valuable experience in learning more about where my food comes from  and how much energy and fuel goes into producing it. When I went grocery shopping yesterday, I actually took into consideration many of the insights I gained while researching the origins of my food. For example, even though many products that are more sustainable are also more expensive, this cost might be worth it in terms of reducing my impact on the environment. Similarly, I considered which fruits and vegetables were in season in order to reduce the oil required for food transportation. I was also shocked to find out how much corn is incorporated into most products. Not only does this involve a lot of fossil fuels but it also has resulted in huge swaths of land being covered by monocultures.

I think this is an exercise that should be done by more people as it has certainly made me more aware of the impacts of my food choices. In modern society we are so separated from our food origins that it is important that we are informed so that we can make choices for a sustainable food system. This is vital as the path we are on now, using between 7-20 calories of fossil fuels to produce one calorie of food is certainly not feasible for the future!

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