Food Forests save the world by reducing meat consumption

September 26, 2020

We need to recognize that our choices can make a big difference. Particularly when it comes to meat:

We need to reduce consumption and choose quality meat from farms that respect the environment and animal welfare in order to at least attempt to solve the climate crisis.

Urban food forests can help to drastically reduce meat consumption, reduce transport of food crops and animals and increase health.

Why meat is bad for the environment

When land is used to raise animals instead of crops, precious water and soil are lost, trees are cut down to make land for grazing or factory-farm sheds, and untreated animal waste pollutes rivers and streams.

The consequences are intensive crops that destroy soil fertility and the release of highly polluting substances from fertilizers and pesticides into the soil, water and air.

Meat production wastes natural resources

An animal-based diet isn’t as diverse in terms of nutrients as a plant-based diet is. You pretty much get two main macronutrients — protein and fat — with essentially no vitamins or minerals, and no fiber. What most people don’t know is that the body needs vitamins and minerals to digest and assimilate protein efficiently. Bodies also need fiber to help push things through and assimilate nutrients.

Meat isn’t as rich in nutrients as plants

An animal-based diet isn’t as diverse in terms of nutrients as a plant-based diet is. You pretty much get two main macronutrients — protein and fat — with essentially no vitamins or minerals, and no fiber. What most people don’t know is that the body needs vitamins and minerals to digest and assimilate protein efficiently. Bodies also need fiber to help push things through and assimilate nutrients.

Meat intake can build up in the body and slow things down, causing you to feel tired and undernourished. Going plant-based ensures that your body at least gets the nutritional baseline it requires to thrive on a day-to-day basis.

Meat is loaded with toxins

Animals are sponges that soak up toxicity. Because a majority of their biological makeup is fat, their bodies can accumulate an excessive amount of toxins. So, when the animals eat a toxic diet, these toxins get carried with them for life, and they end up in the food you eat.

Eating meat can increase your risk for cancer and osteoporosis

In addition to causing heart disease, excess meat consumption leads to other health-degrading conditions, such as osteoporosis and even cancer. The excess protein — despite what people may think — isn’t good for the body. Also, the accumulation of meat can lead to more fatty deposits in the body, which become plaque deposits, and they can start to calcify and affect many of our tissues and bones, causing long-term diseases like heart disease.