Check out sustainable food trends!

Have you ever heard of the term sustainable food? Recently, there has been increasing interest in environmental and health issues. Opportunities to hear words such as eco, organic, and ethical have increased.

Many people have heard of sustainable food, but don't know the details. So this time, I would like to introduce you to sustainable food.

In addition, specific examples of sustainable food and food loss are also posted.

What is sustainable food?

Sustainable food is sustainable food. Sustainable is the idea of ​​living a prosperous life while paying attention to the environment and keeping future generations in mind. Nowadays, there is a need for a sustainable society that includes the meaning of living a prosperous life through social and economic activities that no one can tolerate.

In other words, sustainable food is food that is considerate of the environment and people's lives. Sustainable food has been gaining attention in recent years. There are several reasons for this, and it is an issue that we will face.

Next, we will introduce why sustainable food is necessary in modern society.

Why sustainable food is necessary in today's society

Here are two reasons why you need sustainable food.

①Environmental load caused by food

There are five environmental issues related to food:

・Soil pollution due to chemical fertilizers.

- Impact on the ecosystem due to contaminated water flowing from the soil into the ocean.

・Deforestation to secure land for raising livestock and their food.

・Lack of water resources due to large amounts of water consumed in agriculture and livestock raising.

- Acceleration of global warming due to chemical fertilizer nitrogen and methane gas contained in cow burps.

②Population increase

The world's population continues to increase year by year and is predicted to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. As the population increases, food will be needed more than ever. Already in 2016, more than 790 million people around the world did not have enough to eat. The number of hungry people is decreasing year by year. However, in order to guarantee food to meet the rapid population growth, we need to change our awareness and behavior.

I realized that there are many people in the world who need food. However, did you know that there is a phenomenon in which food that could be eaten is thrown away (food loss)? Next, we will introduce sustainable food and food loss.

About sustainable food and food loss

In developed countries, food waste, which is food that could otherwise be eaten but is thrown away, is a problem. The amount of food loss in Japan is approximately 6 million tons. On a per person basis, this is equivalent to throwing away one bowl of rice every day.

And producing and selling food uses a lot of energy. Also, disposing of discarded food requires a lot of resources and energy. Burying it in the ground will lead to pollution, and burning it will emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. These energy consumptions lead to a large burden on the global environment. When considering sustainable food, it is also important to solve the problem of food loss.

In order to realize sustainable food, it is necessary to select such foods. Next, we will introduce specific examples of sustainable food.

Examples of sustainable food

We will introduce specific examples to help you choose sustainable foods. This time, let's look at three things: coffee, seafood, and vegan food.

・Sustainable coffee

Sustainable coffee is coffee that is considerate to the environment and its producers. These include pesticide-free or reduced pesticide use, natural protection and restoration of production areas, and protection of the human rights of farm workers.

The following are some of the most representative certified sustainable coffees.

・Bird-friendly certified coffee

・Rainforest Alliance certified coffee

・Good Insight certified coffee

・Fairtrade certified coffee

・Organically grown certified coffee

・Sustainable seafood

The amount of fish is decreasing due to changes in the marine environment and overfishing. Sustainable seafood refers to marine products that are made with care so that we can continue to eat fish. There are two certification labels, and these days you can often see them in supermarkets.

・MSC label
Proof of natural marine products caught in fishing grounds that are considerate of marine resources and the environment.

・ASC label
Proof of farmed seafood grown with minimal impact on the environment and society.

Choosing products with the above labels helps protect marine resources.

・Vegan food

Vegan food is food that does not contain animal ingredients such as meat, fish, or eggs. Vegan food is one way to reduce the environmental impact of livestock farming. It is gaining popularity not only for the environment, but also because it solves health problems and animal abuse.

You can easily make sustainable dishes by using soy meat instead of meat!

Let's choose sustainable food!

This time, we also introduced the relationship between sustainable food and environmental issues, human rights issues, and food loss issues. Sustainable food is surprisingly available and available for purchase.

Please try choosing sustainable food!