Another Sperm Whale

This question struck an interesting chord with me. As basic as it is, the correlation between food and the environment seems almost contradictory. Our eating habits--one would think-- are one of our most natural functions. Paired with our seemingly learned habits--i.e. excessive consumerism-- food becomes a huge factor in the strain on finite but necessary resources that we must grapple with as a society. As Americans (read: sperm whales, a la Bill McKibben) it is important for us to do some introspection when it comes to our "ingrained" eating habits.

The connection between food and the environment was so foreign to me that I regard my learning it in this course a revelation of sorts. Despite this knowledge, I realized how minute a consideration the environment is in my food choices. In all honesty, the main decision-makers when it comes to eating are what's the most economical, delicious, and easiest. Essentially, it mostly comes down to economics. As a college student with limited funds, my priority is to eat as cost-effectively as possible. Further, as a college student, time is precious and food often falls low on the list of priorities. This makes me want to eat as easily and quickly as possible. The delicious factor becomes more of a consideration when at a restaurant. That, however, is also related to my finances. My mind frame is that if I'm paying for a meal, it's going to be something delicious and worthwhile. Admittedly, these considerations are selfish. Ideally, I would consider at least nutrition and hopefully the environment as well. I don't think that college eating habits are indicative of "real world" eating habits. That said, I eat fairly well for the environment. I'd say that 90% of my meals are vegetarian. Purely due to taste preferences, I rarely crave animal products and when I do, it's poultry or fish (although I now realize the fish part may be much more hazardous than I may have thought.) As far as beverages though, I mostly drink water from the tap. When on campus, I do find myself buying bottled water for convenience. I am an avid coffee drinker, but have adapted to bringing my travel mug EVERYWHERE to compensate.

Of the food items I consume on a day to day basis, frozen meals are probably the most environmentally harmful. While they provide convenience for my on-the-go lifestyle, I realize how much excess product is used to individually package meals. For the one, relatively small meal you're consuming, you are disposing of its contents in their entirety. That means every time I eat one (which is more often than I'd like to admit) I am adding plastic, cardboard, and who knows what else to our filling sinks.

There seems to be some sort of "extremist" connotation that comes along with making environmentally-conscious food choices. Vegans tend to suggest a certain type of person, when in reality diet choices should have little to do with one's personality. As a wrongdoer myself, I believe we need serious introspection and appropriate changes in our eating habits. Because we are fulfilling what we consider a basic function (that we have taken to unbasic heights) we often blindly consume our food, casting aside any consideration of the environment. However, for this very reason-- the sheer frequency with which we feed ourselves-- it is imperative that we reflect on our eating and how it contributes to the environment. We must get rid of the stigma that comes with environmentally conscious eating.