Students, food and Mother Nature..

How can a student play his role to cope with environmental issues in terms of food?

Before a student takes any action to cope with environmental issues, I think they supposed to be exposed to environmental problems that the worlds are facing now. Environmental awareness is the best way of preservation which would make them realise their responsibility towards their surroundings. Even though it seems like not much a student can do to handle the environmental impact, students can minimise and save energy and water even at home, school or universities.

Students mainly should concentrate on three main ideas, reduce, recycle and reuse. In terms of food, students can buy organic food or locally grown food. This would reduce the need for food to be import or preparation of non-organic food. If possible, they can grow their own fruits and vegetables using organic gardening practises. This would reduce the need for transporting, preservation and packaging of foods and thus reduce the energy needed for the food to be prepared.

 

 

Students also can consider becoming a Lacto-vegetarian or vegan at least few days a week. This would reduce the need for meat. Meat uses more energy and water to be prepared compare to vegetables or fruits. Besides that, they should reduce eating processed or packaged food such as can food, bottled drinks, instant noodles etc whenever possible. It is always better to consume fresh foods where it not just energy and water saving but it also prevent them from chemical additives and fatal microorganism contained in the packaged food.

Students are encouraged to purchase food wrapped with products containing materials that can be recycled such as paper, glass or aluminium. Recycling these materials requires less energy than producing then from brand new raw materials. Non-biodegradable wrappers should be banned. Last but not least, for reuse, students can switch from disposable to reusable products such as their food and beverages container, cups, plates. They also can donate these products to homeless shelters or orphanage so the products would be reused and less of these products would be remade. All this are my ways as a student to be a part in saving Mother Nature in terms of food. Done your part??