The climate crisis and its potential to wreak havoc on life is one of the most pressing issues today.
One of the biggest contributors to this crisis is the food industry, and its negative impact on the environment has started to show—now, more than ever.
While there are tons of things you can do to save the planet, one of the most helpful would be to tweak your diet.
Below are some of the foods that pose the most threat to the health of our home—the Earth. Let’s give this more than a passing thought and become slightly more mindful while eating.
1. Avocado
While these exotic fruits pack in a lot of nutrients for a healthy body, half a kilo of avocados need about 272 litres of water to grow. That is thrice the amount required to grow potatoes!
Avocados are especially bad when grown in drought-prone areas such as California and Chile. It’s best to give up on them entirely; but if that’s too much to ask, consider buying the New Zealand variants whenever you do.
2. Almonds
As more and more people gravitate towards this edible seed—growers are struggling to keep up with the demand. Just like avocados, almonds too need a lot of water in their production.
What’s making things worse is that the growing community of vegans world over want by-products of the nut such as almond milk, almond flour or even almond butter—to go as a plant-based substitute for their dairy products.
While there’s no contesting how nutrient-dense the nut is, the amount of water needed to produce a single piece of almond is 4.1 litres. Yes, that blows our mind too.
3. Asparagus
The production of this exotic vegetable isn’t exactly the culprit, according to PETA. What makes it contribute to the warming of our planet is the air miles it gives off to make it available in different parts of the world.
That significantly increases the greenhouse gases associated with asparagus.