SUSTAINABILITY.
I googled trending nutrition topics, and this was the first one on the list.
I think of 2 things when I think of eating with sustainability in mind:
- Making food choices aligned with the sustainability of our global food system in the face of climate change and limited planetary resources
- Individual dietary practices that can realistically be sustained over an extended period of time
Oh, that the two always worked hand in hand!
I really don’t want to do a whole lecture here on how our current industrial agricultural and farming practices are messing with the earth, increasing our global footprint, and leading to our inevitable demise (oh, the drama). But I think in general we understand the idea of sustainability is that we should be replenishing what we use.
That is not what’s happening on the whole.
Water is going, nutrient rich land is going, fossil fuels are going, and what is being given back or emitted by the system is creating additional detriment to our environment rather than supporting its recovery.
There are lots of foods that are implicated:
Produce grown out in California that uses more water than the state naturally has available, which then has to be transported to all the other states using plenty of gas to cover the distance.
Ultra processed foods that require a lot of energy to create, but often deplete the nutritional value of the foods that go into them.
Perhaps the largest culprit is meat, particularly beef; those cattle have to be fed, and it takes at least 10 times as much energy to feed a cow as you get back out of it when it becomes food itself.
However, we do need to eat, and we have the system we have. We all want to do our best, but there is almost nothing we can do these days that doesn’t leave some amount of destruction in our wake (remember the points system from The Good Place?). So, although I advocate for eating sustainably on a global level to whatever degree you feel called, what I tend to talk about more often with my clients is their own personal dietary habits and how they can be maintained with minimal depletion of energy and zest for life.
Which means that we’re not going to make the “perfect” choice every time.
Sometimes we need to choose convenience, even if we sacrifice nutrient density.
Sometimes we need to choose to eat what’s in front of us, even if it’s not our favorite thing.
Sometimes we need to choose affordable, even if we lose the moral high ground we’d prefer to walk on.
And I think if we do want to start making choices that are more aligned with our values, we will have a better time of it if we don’t beat ourselves up every time we have to make a compromise.
Steps towards change – sustainable change – can be small.
All-or-nothing thinking is not going to fix our global food system, and it’s not going to shift our eating patterns long-term either.
When it comes to the big picture, I honestly do not know if sustainable is attainable. I hope so, but there’s only so much any one individual can do.
But for all of us as individuals, I do believe that if we can picture where we would like to be in the future, and then give ourselves permission to take one step at a time in that direction, knowing that we are not going to become a whole new human overnight, we can start to see changes.
The whole idea of sustainable change is that we hardly notice anything is different from day to day, it’s only when we look back over time that we see progress.
Can eating sustainably be sustainable on a personal level? Well, I’d like to see change in the world that makes it easier for a person to grab a quick bowl of beans rather than a burger. But external environment is a factor so, for many people, focusing on global sustainability with their food choices might not be possible right now as it means going against the grain.
But can it be that these two concepts are mutually exclusive?
I definitely don’t think they are.
But I do think that we have to be honest with ourselves about what is sustainable for us on a personal level. Because the greater changes will never happen anyway if we can’t stick with individual changes for a good long time.
Hey, if you feel like you need individual support in making dietary changes, don’t hesitate to reach out. I am currently licensed in IL and accepting Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL insurance! Click here to set up a FREE consult.
