Eating for a better planet: Food sustainability

Food is a funny thing. Some of us don’t think about it too much, while others think about the different flavours and spices that go along with it. Some of us eat whatever we like, and others eat purely for fuel and agonize over healthy choices.

But how often do we think about where our food comes from?

Imagine you are a child once again. Perhaps you are in the garden of a relative, either your parents’ or grandparents’ garden. The soil at your feet is dark and damp. The water and grass scent of fresh rainfall is all around you, touched with a bit of earthiness.

Rows of plants line the garden. In one row, the feathery, fern-like tops of carrots, and in another, bright red tomatoes dangle like Christmas tree ornaments on their vines, glossy surfaces adorned with crystalline water drops.

You tug a carrot from its snug nest in the rich soil, both hands wrapped carefully around the top. It pulls free with a soft crackle. The soil that clings to the root is gritty and fluffy all at once.

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Freshly grown food is a wonderful treat. Some of us get to enjoy it often, but many people struggle and do not have access to fresh food or much food at all.

Growing your own food and buying locally grown items not only helps you and your community, but it also helps the planet by promoting food sustainability.

What is food sustainability?

Food sustainability means:

• Protecting the environment

• Efficient resource use

• Fair income for farmers

• Food availability for everyone

Sustainable food practices help improve quality of life for people, and animals. (source)

Our actions with food are especially important for environmental health, and the well-being of humans. Here's an example of why:

Algae Bloom

When a farmer constantly tills a field over and over, it can begin to damage the health of the soil, turning it into dry dirt that has no nutrition for growing plants.

This means the farmer needs to apply fertilizers to the soil, but much of this fertilizer is washed away and ends up in rivers, ponds, and other water ways. The chemicals harm the animals by getting into their food, and we see things like algae blooms.

Astotin Lake frequently suffers from algae blooms

This happens closer to home than you might think. Elk Island National Park, just 45 minutes east of Edmonton, has recurring issues with algal blooms on Astotin Lake. The algae is unsafe for humans to swim in and robs the lake of crucial oxygenation. Not only that, but the food we harvest in these instances have been shown to be less nutritious as well because of the poor soil quality.

It’s easy to see how complicated this issue can become, and obviously as a student we may not be able to control an issue such as poor agricultural practice. We should mention that there are agroecology practices that are used as well and farmers are not the bad guys. For more info about Agroecology, click here.

So what actions can you take?

Things you can do as a student include:

• Growing your own food (check out MacEwan’s Tower Garden program)

• Buying locally grown food whenever possible. Hello Strathcona Farmer’s Market! Alternatively, there is a farmer’s market that pops up on 104th street during the summer which is a bit easier to get to.

• Eating foods that are in season. For early spring, foods like radishes, carrots, and peas are all good choices. Asparagus is also a great early spring crop.

• Eating more veggies and less dairy and/or meat.

That last point might trigger a bit of resistance. You don’t have to become a vegetarian or eliminate cheese from your diet. We get it. Cheddar is awesome. But cutting back on it a bit does save you some money and helps with sustainability so that everyone can enjoy good wholesome meals.

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We want to issue you a friendly challenge!

Pick a popular item from your grocery list--maybe chicken, a veggie, or fruit. Do some digging and see if you can find the path that food would have taken to get into your hands? Are there different methods of production? What impacts does it have on the environment and people? Ask the why, where, and how questions.

Share an insight in the comments!