I really love a good plant based smoothie. One made with frozen bananas especially- so it's basically having delicious healthy ice cream dessert for breakfast. (Dessert for breakfast is what dreams are made of!)
But does this relate to science and conservation? Why do we post about smoothies?
Yes. It does heavily relate to conservation and science. Some would say not in a "traditional" science sense, but its actually pretty intrinsic to conservation. There is a lot of science looking into how our diets and food choices damage the planet. Food production creates an impact whatever you choose to eat. There are no specific guidelines, as it is fuzzy and complicated.
But the data does show that LOWERING our meat intake and improving our plant intake is good. Some food sources also are better for our wellbeing. Plus your diet and it's environmental credentials vary entirely on your location. We do not advocate removing animal products entirely from your diet. One study showed a vegan diet had a bigger environmental footprint than an omnivore.
Let’s use a case study of beef. Beef consistently performs extremely badly in terms of environmental degradation. It causes a lot of deforestation, releases greenhouse gases to name just two.
A conservationist working in the Amazon rainforest, would probably feel pretty passionately about reducing beef production, as the farms encroach into the National Parks that they are finding thousands of new species in. Lifestyle does relate to the conservation in the field, as our actions dictate a lot of the production
Preventing or slowing the root cause of the problems, is really important and also easy way we can all get involved in conservation. Small lifestyle changes that are easy to take up, can help those conservationists sweatily climbing trees and soothing mosquito bites. Whilst there is a huge array of research detailing the environmental degradation that comes with beef, there is also research that shows a 50% reduction in meat equates to 19% drop in greenhouse gas emissions and a reduced chance of a heart attack. Cutting down beef and dairy consumption benefits us all. But all meat has an impact. There is also fresh research detailing how communicating these findings in an exciting, fresh and positive way is more effective than extremism.
Hugh Fearnley Whittingstale has really nailed this idea in his new books focussing on Vegetables. He discusses the importance to us and the planet to eat MORE vegetables. Just straight up veg, nothing fancy or processed or expensive- JUST VEGETABLES. He discusses the option to add in some sustainably caught fish, or chicken once a week. It's light and fresh- and translates well. Did you know that Hugh has a big personal interest in conservation, and thats what feeds his incredible campaigning for better food systems? This is what we need, exciting new delicious ways to bring the science into everyday life.
So, again, yes smoothies are related to conservation. Because by celebrating and educating about environmentally friendly and healthy diet choices, we're informing about ways to reduce the impact we have on the planet in a fun and easy way. And smoothies are just on trend and yummy. It relates to all food insp. we put up. Small changes do good- and hopefully, protect our most delicate and biodiverse regions. Because it’s too down and bottom up approaches together that will work!