Author Question: Explain the role of the consumer's diet in contributing to a sustainable food system. What food ... (Read 103 times)

robinn137

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Explain the role of the consumer's diet in contributing to a sustainable food system. What food choices could an eco-conscientious consumer make to conserve environmental resources?

Question 2

What is an ecological footprint? What is the difference in size of the ecological footprint of a person in an industrialized country versus in a developing country?



morrie123456

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Answer to Question 1

Eco-conscience consumers can reduce pollution and the use of resources through some of the dietary choices they make. A sustainable diet is higher in legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruit, and vegetables and lower in red meats and highly processed foods. Overall, a vegetarian diet requires just one-third of the energy needed to produce the average meat-containing diet. Meat production entails tremendous amounts of water, grain, and land, thus reducing the resources available to grow staple foods for human beings. An exception is livestock raised on the open range; these animals eat grass and require low energy inputs. So much of our beef is grain-fed, however, that the average energy requirement to produce it is high. Opting for more foods derived from plants and fewer foods derived from animals conserves environmental resources.

Answer to Question 2

The ecological footprint is the productive land and water required to supply all of the resources an individual consumes and to absorb all of the wastes generated using prevailing practices. The footprint of each individual is four times larger in an industrialized country than in a developing one.



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