Processed Foods and Organic Foods in the Market - Essay Example

Footprint Journal If all the people in the world were to live my lifestyle, then 4.43 earths would be needed to support them, and in addition, my footprint in global acres in consumption would be 171.70. Furthermore, my footprint in biome would be the following: 20.35% in marine fisheries footprint; 31.16% in forestland footprint; 12.43% in cropland footprint and finally, 28.05 in pastureland footprint. The two most significant categories in my ecological footprint are the carbon and food footprints. The reason for having a high carbon footprint is that I tend to travel a lot, both by airplanes and by road. When moving from one place to another within the city, I tend to use a vehicle and rarely do I use public means. I travel by air on many occasions and I believe that this has contributed significantly to my carbon footprint. In addition, my food footprint is quite high and this may be due to my omnivorous nature. It was extremely rare for me to consume organic food and this may have contributed to the footprint. If everyone in the world were to have the same lifestyle as I do, then about 4.43 earths would be needed to sustain the population. This means that the earth’s resources would be depleted faster than they are supposed to be, perhaps even within a generation. If we were to continue using resources at that rate, then the resources would become scarce and consequently, there would be absolute chaos as people fought over the resources that are left. It would also mean the destruction of the entire earth’s ecosystem as plants and animals would become extinct. Reflection The foremost changes that I made for the week was to shift from the use of heavy carbon emitting transport to cleaner transport, hence a reduction of emissions to the atmosphere. Among the steps I took to accomplish this was to start walking, especially when moving over short distances, the use of public transport, and finally, the use of transport that does not emit carbon, such as bicycles. In addition, I added energy saving features within my home and adopted habits whose purpose would be to save energy. I took to the consumption of organic foods because this would help an immense deal in the discouragement of nonorganic foods. The first adjustment I made to the categories of carbon and food footprints was to reduce significantly my air travel unless it was necessary that I had to travel. Furthermore, I believed that it would be for the best if I stopped using a personal vehicle and instead adapt to using public means because this would ensure that there was a reduction of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Moreover, there was a significant decrease in the food category when I stopped consuming processed foods and instead consumed organic food. When I took the test again, I found that my footprint was greatly reduced, having cut it by almost half. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement and I look forward to further improving my lifestyle for the betterment of the environment. Garbage Journal Journal In an attempt to find out how my garbage reflected on my contributed to my ecological footprint, I chose to keep a garbage journal for a week. The results were quite surprising because they displayed a truth that I would previously not have cared to admit; that my ecological footprint was quite high and that if other American lived the same way I did, then the earth was doomed. Below is a record of the garbage that I threw away for the duration of my observation. Day 1 – glass, bottles, cans, and food Day 2 – cans, paper towels, food, writing paper, and kitchen waste Day 3 – food, plastic bottles, kitchen waste, worn out clothes, and broken piece of electronic Day 4 – food, plastic bags, paper towels, kitchen waste, and cans Day 5 – kitchen waste, food, bottles, cans, and spray cans Day 6 – food, expired drugs, chemical products, paper and plastic bags Day 7 – plastic bags, glass, and food Reflection When I made a study of my garbage journal after keeping it for one week, I came to find that I threw away plenty of things that would otherwise have proven useful. The most amount of garbage that I threw away were plastics, which I would have otherwise been able to recycle and put into good use in the home. Furthermore, the amount of food that I threw away was just incredible since a large percentage of my trash consisted of either spoiled or leftover food. This was truly a sad realization because of the fact that I not only contributed to my ecological footprint by throwing food away, but I also felt guilty because there are so many people in the world today who are going hungry. I came to the realization that there is a strong relationship between my food consumption and wastage levels and my ecological footprint because the more I consume, the larger the footprint becomes. This means that if I am to reduce my consumption level, then it is likely that this will translate to a smaller footprint. Therefore, there will be a reduction in not only in my consumption levels, but also on the harm that is brought to the various ecosystems through that consumption. When working through this process, I have come to learn just how much an individual, such as me, can contribute significantly to the ecological footprint in the world through the garbage that we dispose. I have learnt that if everyone in the world lived the same lifestyle as me, then all the available resources in the world would have been depleted and there would be a lot of suffering because of it. It is therefore our duty to ensure that we change our lifestyles for the better so that the resources that are available today are not depleted but are there for future generations to use and enjoy. Water Consumption Journal In the home, the average water consumption per day is, in most cases based on the duration in showers, which was about fifteen minutes. In addition, water was used when cooking as well as cleaning the home. Three people live in the home and these use the shower on a daily basis in addition to cooking. When one considers the water consumption in the diet category, one will find that all the people in the home consume three servings of beef per day, one serving of chicken as well as two cups of coffee. The consumption of water in the diet can therefore be seen to be much lower than that of the average American. The most amount of water is used in the energy category because of the use of electrical appliances, the reception of electricity from a regular utility, and most of all, the use of a vehicle. The numbers of flights that are taken are also quite high and this may account for a further increase in the water consumption in the energy category. In the stuff and services category, there is a of improvement because almost all the expenditure assessed in relation to the consumption of water shows that it is less than that of the average American. In brief, one would say that not only the showers but also the diet, the use of energy, and the expenditure on basic things such as clothing and furniture, all contributed to the increase in the consumption of water. Reflection The results of the water footprint exercise were quite surprising because I did not expect to find that my water consumption was less, by half, than that of the average American. Furthermore, the test was quite revealing to me because I did not expect to find that water consumption took place in almost all aspects of my daily activities. There are various aspects of my life, which I consider to be extremely wasteful of water, and this is mostly because of my need to travel from place to place. I have a personal car that I normally use to move from place to place within the city, even for short distances. In addition, there are certain times when I need to get to urgent meetings, and this has forced me to fly to places that are less than 500 miles away. Furthermore, my frequent flights, both within and outside the country, average more than 30000 miles every year and this may have contributed a great deal, to what I consider to be wastage of water. On average, however, I was quite pleased by the results of my water footprint because I had never expected that I would consume only half of what the average American does. This has encouraged me to work towards the further improvement of my water consumption behavior so that I can contribute significantly to the reduction of the water footprint. I have come to the realization that the power to reduce our water footprint is in our hands and all that we have to do is to become dedicated to achieving it. Food Journal On the first day of my investigation concerning the type of food I eat, I took a glass of juice, had a bag of chips, and ordered a McDonald’s beef burger. On this day, I came to find that all the food I consumed was manufactured or produced by the same companies that are mentioned in the film Food Inc. I found it to be extremely disturbing, considering that, I consumed such food on a daily basis, yet, according to the film, all this food was potentially unsafe for human consumption. Over the next six days, I attempted to adjust my diet to more organic foods and in doing so; I stopped ordering out and instead chose to adopt a diet that was free from any processed foods. This was a tremendous improvement because of the fact that I ended up ceasing to eat any of the products of such companies as Monsanto, which were suspected of producing unfit food. While this was the case, I came to the realization that despite this, these large corporations had also entered the organic food market, since most of the organic foods I consumed came from Wal-Mart. At the end of that week, I realized that my food consumption behavior had changed drastically, as I found that I actually enjoyed the consumption of organic foods. It is for this reason that I chose to continue consuming it for several weeks longer to see if I would adapt to it permanently. Reflection During the one week of studying my food consumption behavior, I realized that neither I, nor those people who are close to me know where their food comes from. All they knew was that they picked it off a shelf at a food store and took it home with them. This is when I started to take notice of where the food came from and did background research concerning those companies, which processed the food. It came as a surprise when I found out that the majority of the companies whose food I consumed had been mentioned in the film Food Inc as among those that produced food on a large scale without caring for the potential health hazards. This new perspective made me change my eating behavior as on the second day, I started eating organic food, which did not turn out as badly as I had thought. I have continued eating organic foods since then and this has increased my confidence in the fact that I am not only taking better care of my health, but also helping in the effort to conserve the environment. At the moment, I doubt that my eating habits are similar to that of the average American because processed foods are still a lot cheaper than organic foods in the market. In these tough economic times, many people are opting to consume processed foods because it is cheaper, despite their origins. This exercise changed quite a lot about the way I live since it enabled me to adopt a healthier food consumption lifestyle that is compatible with environmental conservation. Read More