Eye Opener: CSPI

The CSPI activity I chose to do was the "Eating green calculator." What I found out after particpating in the activity was disappointing :(

 The environmental burdens of the animal products I eat each year are:

·         0.8 acres of grain and grass for animal feed.

·         0.2 pounds of pesticides used to grow the animal feed

·         23.8 pounds of fertilizer used to grow animal feed

·         4742 pounds of manure created by the animals I eat. (Gross!)

To improve my daily diet, I decided to omit beef period. I chose to cut down my serving size of intake of chicken to from four to 2.  My milk and yogurt intake I reduced to 2 servings instead of 4, and for cheese, which is really hard for me to do because I absolutely love cheese, I decided to reduce my serving size from 6 per week to 4 per week.

Yes, I took the pledge because after understanding how much I contribute to the environment just by what eating, I felt that I could do better by changing a minmal behavior and doing  two positive things at once which is to eliminate all the toxins and pesticides I’m consuming and also by not putting so much strain on the environmental resources that are needed to accommodate my eating behaviors. 

What this means to me is that if I, as an individual, add that much strain on environmental resources that means, as a whole population, we are destroying are environment in every way. This activity focused on one aspect of daily life.  Just imagine if the activity factored in other aspects that we engage in as humans, wow, what kind of outcome would have been reported? We are the culprits by our demands to satisfy our behavior, traditions and culture.