This morning, I ate a sandwich with peanut butter and another one with butter and sugar. By the way, I did not only eat that the morning I posted this blog, but probably also on the day that you are reading it. As someone from the Netherlands, having just some simple sandwiches for breakfast is normal for me, and I am the kind of person who finds comfort in daily habits so even when it comes to sandwich toppings I tend to choose the same ones every day.
But how about you? What did you eat this morning? What did you, or will you have for lunch and dinner? And why are you choosing these foods?
Depending on the person, what we eat may differ a lot. That is influenced by our likes and dislikes, budget and food prices, and the food culture of our country or region. However, there is one common feature: all food has affected the environment and people in some way up until it reaches our plate (and even after, especially when we don’t eat it).
Forests, for example, are being cleared to create farmland, leading to deforestation. Greenhouse gases are emitted while growing crops, and pesticides may harm creatures other than the ones they are meant to kill, including humans. When processing, transporting, and selling food, greenhouse gases are emitted again. And finally, healthy food tends to be more costly than unhealthy food, resulting in a higher risk of lifestyle-related diseases for those who cannot afford healthy food.
Moreover, from the moment of harvest to the moment the food reaches us, as well as after we brought home food we bought, part of it gets wasted, resulting in food loss. As long as we eat that food, it would at least be our nutrition. But when wasted, it will just be “something that had a negative effect on the environment and humans”. All the energy used to produce food that is wasted, is wasted as well.
Reading all this, you may think it’s a lost cause, because all food will negatively affect the environment and people. Indeed, a food that does not affect the environment or people at all does not exist. Plus, the worldwide food system (the production of food and the way we deal with food) is putting substantial pressure on the environment and people; it is not sustainable.
But rest assured, it is not as if there is nothing we can do! Even if the impact on the environment is not zero, all we have to do is reduce it to a sustainable level. At Miraikan, we dubbed such food that is good for the environment and people “Chikyu-meshi” (literally: Earth food). From September 11th to December 9th 2024, we introduced the concept of “Chikyu-meshi” in the exhibition “Chikyu-meshi - Tasty, Healthy, Earth-friendly” and several related events.
Different foods have different impacts on the environment and people
So, what should we do to turn our usual food into “Chikyu-meshi” that is good for the environment and for people? To do so, choosing food wisely is important, since the environmental impact and the impact on people can differ greatly between different foods. For example, if I compare vegetables with red meat, I can see that the impact of red meat is larger than that of vegetables, regardless whether it is about the environmental impact or about human health.
If you compare a lot of different foods, you will see that in general, animal-based foods have a higher impact than plant-based foods. So if you want to lower the negative impacts of food on the environment and on your health, eating less animal-based and more plant-based foods is an effective method.
Protein shift
Having said that, of course we cannot live by only eating vegetables. Vegetables may be rich in vitamins, but they typically do not contain much protein. Proteins are important to grow and maintain our bodies, and can be found mainly in animal-based foods, legumes (peas, beans, etc.), and nuts. Currently, many people get their protein mostly from animal-based foods, but in order to reduce the burden on the environment and your body, shifting the balance away from animal-based foods and towards legumes and nuts is a good idea.
By the way, even though the impact of meat is higher than that of plants, it still differs per type of meat. For example, poultry/chicken has a lower impact on both the environment and on human health than red meat or processed meat like hamburgers and sausages. So for the meat lovers amongst us: you need not become 100% vegetarian! In the “Chikyu-meshi” exhibition we call shifting your protein intake from high-impact animal-based food to low-impact animal-based food or even lower impact plant-based food “protein shift”. How about trying “protein shift” in your own way?
Food loss-less
There are also other ways to turn your usual food into “Chikyu-meshi” that is good for the environment and people. For example, avoiding food loss and waste.
In Japan, more than half of the country’s food loss occurs in people’s homes. Starting at the farm, and through transportation, processing factories, and shop operations, the further along the food supply chain you get, the more greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts accumulate. Because of this, food wasted at our homes has a larger environmental impact than, for example, food that is wasted before leaving the farm. So although reducing food loss at places like farms and factories is also important, us consumers can make an even larger difference by preventing food loss. In the “Chikyu-meshi” exhibition, we call preventing and reducing food loss going “food loss-less”.
How about eating “Chikyu-meshi” that is good for the environment and people from now on, so that we can continue eating delicious food for the rest of our lives?
If you feel like trying to make some “Chikyu-meshi” after reading this blog, please also read part 2, “Let’s make ‘Chikyu-meshi’!” in which I will introduce some “Chikyu-meshi” recipes by cooking expert Koh Kentetsu and cooking expert / registered dietitian Akari Hasegawa.
In addition, if you are wondering about visitors’ comments and opinions regarding the exhibition and concept of “Chikyu-meshi”, please have a look at part 3 of this blog, “Let’s think about ‘Chikyu-meshi’!”.
If you would like to see the “Chikyu-meshi” exhibition, the exhibition period at Miraikan has already ended, but throughout the coming year the exhibition will go on tour, so you may still find an opportunity to see it. I will publish a list of science centers and museums where the exhibition will be showing, at the end of part 3 of this blog.
