Sustainable living to help fight an obesity epidemic

It turns out that sustainable living may be doing more not only for the environment but for our waistlines as well. This comes from the fact that the majority of the food readily available across the United States, and which is in turn bleeding into other countries as our fast food chains make their way across borders, is highly processed. In fact as recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture 90% of the food is processed to be exact. Couple this with the higher costs of food and you have a recipe for at least a rather hefty contributing factor to the obesity plight; the rate of which wholesome food has increased in respect to unhealthy junk food has significantly outpaced the later.

Sustainable living techniques could be one proponent in shifting how Americans eat, "To end obesity, we need to produce healthier, more accessible, more affordable food," notes Dr. Tenley Albright as the director of MIT's Collaborative Initiative program. He and a team of researches out of both MIT and Columbia University conducted a study and constructed a model he feels would not only cut back on the weighty load on the scales but bring back a reliance on a more local and sustainable living method of shopping. Albright proposes a "10 x10 project" which would set up a network of foodsheds to bring a readily supply of fruits and vegetables to the community; these could be housed on school grounds, community centers, or in the style of past 'victory gardens.' Currently it is estimated that a mere one or two percent of all the food that is eaten across the United States is from a locally produced source.

This idea has been embraced by some cities where in Newark, NJ or Oakland, CA there are tax credits and grants available to bolster smaller markets. Still Albright envisions a more collective effort teaming up not only larger grocery stores and restaurants with greenhouses and farmers' markets but also tying in educational resource centers as well. This would then enable an efficient means of distribution, all the while cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions and in essence supporting sustainable living it; it would in turn bring real food to the public more affordably. From there the critical component of knowledge would be fed to the community by helping them make the most of these foods now at their disposal and infusing them into their daily menus. "These would be multi-faceted places where people could buy food, learn about it, and get health information," explains associate director of MIT's Collaboration Initiatives project, Kenneth Kaplan.

So while we may be faced with the battle of the bulge and the pressing need to preserve our environment, perhaps in some instances sustainable living could do much to work on both ends.

Photo credit: Natalie Maynor