10 Foods You Probably Didn’t Realize Were Harming The Environment

 

Usually, the only guilt that you feel when you chow down on a hamburger is when you think of your expanding waistline! Yet, what if you were to stop thinking about yourself for a minute, and instead consider the world around you? It may surprise you but a large number of extremely common, and popular, foods are damaging our environment! Take a look, it might make you consider changing your diet! 

 

Almonds – It takes 1.1 gallons of water to grow a single almond. 

food-almonds
grist

 

Soybeans – Unfortunately, soybeans have been a major catalyst for the destruction of huge swathes of the Amazon rainforest!

food-soy
news.mongabay

 

Salmon – This species is mainly farmed these days. But, farmed fish can easily pass on disease and parasites to the wild stock, and upset the ecosystem. 

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worldwildlife

 

 

Palm Oil – This stuff has caused plenty of the rainforest to be cut down. And, the production has increased 128% over the last decade!

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theguardian

 

Cheese – Because cheese makers use lots of milk, cheese is also technically bad for the environment, as the cows producing the milk are pumping out so much methane and carbon dioxide!

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starmarket

 

Lamb – It may be delicious but getting lamb on the dinner table requires more greenhouse gas emissions than beef! 

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ewg

 

Rice – Amazingly, rice uses up to a third of the world's natural fresh water. It also causes 11% of man made methane emissions. 

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wikipedia

 

Bluefin Tuna – These poor guys have been so over-fished, they are very likely to become extinct soon, if we don't stop catching them. 

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worldwildlife

 

Beef – Cows are a massive drain on global resources. Plus, they cause one fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. 

food-beef
wsj

 

High Fructose Corn Syrup – This is so popular and cheap it's grown as a mono culture by lots of US farmers, completely ruining the soil!

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