When a person is asked to state basic staples of a human diet, what would they say? Likely something along the lines of fruits/vegetables, and meat. Society collectively views these food products, especially vegetables, as the quintessence of healthy and nourishing food. However, what many people are not aware of is how extremely polluted these objects are.
Say that somebody was at any restaurant and wanted to order a caesar salad for the purpose of being “healthy”. While a salad should be a healthy food option, if the chicken in it is not certified humanely raised or the lettuce is inorganic, chances are it is not as healthy as they may think.
Unfortunately, all around the world, there are a large number of factory farms. These farms are factories that produce the same products that farms do, but in much less humanely. The GMOs and pesticides many plant products are sprayed with are also extremely harmful for the human body and environment.
Many processed meat products begin with animals killed in factory farms after being kept in inhumane conditions for most of their lives. For example, chickens are forced in cages with hundreds of other chickens, giving them very little space, cows are put in small rooms and fed unnatural chemicals that are supposed to fatten them up to get better pieces of meat and also get them into prime condition faster. These conditions put the animals at harm as well as the people who end up consuming them.
Some chemicals consumed by the livestock include the components EC and Synovex which are both meant to increase weight of calves. The World Health Organization actually warns against eating these products, however meat companies cover this up, omitting important information from consumers such as the ingredients in the meat as well as the cruelties animals endure during the food production process.
However, there are many brands such as .. that raise their animals humanely, giving them open pastures and nutrient rich food. To check the quality of the meat, look for a grass fed label on them at grocery stores or check with waiters or menus to see if meat used in food was obtained from these types of farms. By sticking to a diet of only humanely raised products, one can be confident that the animals being consumed were raised well and don’t contain any unwanted chemicals or hormones that could cause adverse reactions.
Eating organic fruits and vegetables is also just as important as eating humanely raised meat. These food products are very important to the human body as different vegetables contain good fiber, potassium and vitamins that reap different health benefits.
However, these benefits can be lost when the plants are covered in pesticides and GMOs. GMOs refer to any organisms whose DNA has been altered using genetic engineering technology. In the food industry, they are made by scientists who introduce new traits or characteristics to crops that lower production costs, but increase health risks simultaneously.
GMOs and pesticides are both unnatural and can cause immune problems, changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system, as well as faulty insulin regulation and much more. Additionally, anything that contains pesticides is not healthy for the environment either. In fact, producing food without chemical pesticides has been shown to produce 40% higher yields in times of drought, use 45% less energy, and release 40% fewer carbon emissions than conventional farming methods.
Overall, there are many foods deemed healthy that really are not helpful to the body or environment whatsoever. But awareness of the harm some foods cause due to being inhumanely raised/inorganic can help to prevent consumption of them in future. All grocery stores should have areas dedicated to organic farm products and the same for humanely raised meat. Starting a diet of these food products would be the better option for legitimately healthy eating habits.
