4 Foods That Are Eating the World’s Forests and How to Choose Better

Modern farming techniques, relied upon for a growing population that is also wealthier, can be hard on the environment. “Where traditional agriculture favors growing a diverse set of crops and rotating them according to soil needs, our current system of food production is centered around monoculture crops that rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow,” notes Kate Good writing in One Green Planet. She lists four food crops that depend on mass deforestation: palm oil which is found in 50 percent of all processed foods; coffee, a plant once grown in the shade of the rainforest, but a new variety requires open land; cocoa, again when not shade-grown is linked to 50 percent reduction of biodiversity in some nations; and the feed required for providing meat, dairy products and eggs. “[M]any people don’t realize is that over 70 percent of the cultivated soy goes to feed livestock, not people,” Good notes. Individual choices that keep sustainability in mind and prevent waste could protect the planet. – YaleGlobal