Food taken for granted

Until I started to take this class, I never thought a lot about the food choices I made and how they related to the environment. I had been aware for a long time that meat is far less efficient that consuming plant matter for food, as a large amount of energy is lost in the raising of animals. I always believed in eating everything on my plate, as not to waste anything. This was my only real long-standing means of preventing food going to waste. Also, I have heard that poultry is a more effiecient meat to raise that any bovine product. Animals like chickens have much shorter life spans and provide useful byproducts like eggs, while cattle take a number of years to mature before being brought to slaughter. Cows and other such creatures require a large amount of energy to take care of, house, transport, and process.

When looking back on the last few days, I realize that a large amount of the food I consumed was processed in some way. Be it the cereal I had in the morning, the hamburger meat I had for dinner yesterday night, at least one part of my main meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) have been processed in some way. This costs more energy that simply making a meal from unprocessed components (fresh meat, uncooked vegetables). We need to think about getting our food closer to the source. Urban farming can offer us this, but at this moment, we largely lack the time and effort required for it. Another aspect of our food is the packaging required. A large amount of this is not meant to be recycled, and much of it gets thrown away.