5 Ways To Help Fix The Food System Every Time You Grocery Shop – mindbodygreen.com

I'll cut right to the chase: Our food system in this country is brokenfor many, many reasons.

For starters, it is built on government subsidies on five crops: corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice. These monocrops provide an abundance of the wrong type of calories (sugar, starch, and refined oils) and form the building blocks of ultraprocessed foods that contribute to chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, dementia, cancer, depression, sexual dysfunction, and more. Foods like these are responsible for an estimated 11 million deaths a year around the world.

The present food system doesn't just pollute our bodies. It pollutes our land, water, and air with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and contributes massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions every step of the way. Glyphosate, anyone? Or how about a burger raised on antibiotics, hormones, and chicken poop? No thanks.

Food is also a social injustice issue. Many of the over 20 million food and farmworkers in the U.S. are peopleof color who struggle to make a living wage while performing dangerous work. They're subject to harsh working and living conditions and exposed to toxic agricultural chemicals but lack adequate health care. In extreme cases, they can face modern forms of slavery, sexual harassment, and abuse.

While these are complex issues that won't be solved overnight, I believe that a healthier, cleaner, smarter food system starts at the end of your fork. All you have to do is make a few simple conscious decisions about what you put on it.

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5 Ways To Help Fix The Food System Every Time You Grocery Shop - mindbodygreen.com