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Once Upon a Vegetable: Veggie Consumption for Causes

Once Upon a Vegetable: Veggie Consumption for Causes

When I first came to live the U.S. for a year in 2006, I remembered living with my American host family who had been eating carnivorously: every meal is roughly 50% meat, 30% carbs, and 20% vegetables. Protein and carbs are main components of each dish, with veggie as just a side thought.

However, when I came to live in the U.S. again in 2015, food trends had changed drastically from. America was no longer a nation of primarily junk food. People have become more health-conscious, particularly about what they eat. Real, whole foods and a more balanced diet are increasingly popular among consumers’ choices.

This shift in food thinking is not only about how we eat, but about how we change our lifestyle, buying, cooking, and dining choices. This is a great news to hear as we are shifting toward eating better. Specifically, consumers are paying attention to eating more greens, and not primarily meat. In fact, statistics show that many segments of the population have increased fruit and vegetable consumption by at least 5% since 2004.

Besides the obvious tremendous benefits to health, below are three reasons why consuming vegetables are great for other causes.

The Economics of Farm-to-Table

The Economics of Farm-to-Table

America has food backwards. The majority of our grocery shopping is done in a supermarket with the top items on our list being prepackaged, precooked, and processed foods containing little nutritional value. The produce we select has been shipped thousands of miles and treated with unnatural chemicals to keep the bugs away and to maintain its shininess on shelves.

Healthy foods such as raw nuts, fish, and organic produce are expensive, which limits many families from making healthy food choices. In fact, a study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that it costs $1.50 extra per person per day to eat healthy. That’s $550 more per year for a family of four.

Along with our lack of nutrition, Americans are funding large corporations who have little regard for families or the local economy.

Why Locally Grown Food Tastes Better and Is Better For You

Why Locally Grown Food Tastes Better and Is Better For You

We humans are everywhere, and like ants, have always scurried around our food sources. Unlike ants, however, our population has been booming and expanding for decades, reaching farther and farther away from our food.

Since industrialization, Malthusian’s theory kicked in, leading to problems that forced industrialists to discover ways to speed up food production, such as hormone injection and crop engineering. While industrialists solved the food shortage crisis, they lost credibility with consumers, simultaneously compelling them to seek new and more friendly food sources.

It’s time to think pre-industrial. When we farm or buy food from farms, we are not only supporting our local economy, we are receiving more nutrients from what we eat.

But why is food from local farms better?