World Food Day 2016: We Are All One

This year, World Food Day focused on Climate Change. A changing climate means changes in our food, both in the agricultural sector and in disposal methods. Towns, cities and countries continue to wait on policy changes enacted by their government, but really, these changes must be made by the individual, by you and by me.

First things first, we need to change how we look at the world. It was recently announced that after 20 million years, the Great Barrier Reef, the largest reef in our oceans, has died. There has been debate as to whether or not this is true, but we can be certain that if not dead, it is dying, as are many reefs throughout the seas.

The Great Barrier Reef. Photo from greatbarrierreef.org

But why are the reefs dying? And why is this significant?

Climate change! Climate change! Climate change!

Our ocean acts as a global cooling system, regulating air temperature by absorbing excess gas. As we produce more C02 and other greenhouse gases from sources like pollution (food waste is pollution!) and the burning of fossil fuels, water temperatures increase and a feedback loop occurs; as temperatures go up, glaciers begin to melt. As glaciers melt, sea levels rise and the newly melted water absorbs more heat (rather than reflecting some of it back into space as ice does). Besides presenting a serious problem for hungry polar bears, this “speeds up” the warming process, which will continue to cause more glacier melt and perpetuate the loop.

No matter how adaptable a species may be, few (if any) will be able to “keep pace” with the rapid deterioration of their ecosystem. Humans are not excluded. Nor are the thousands of species of coral that made up the Great Barrier Reef and have died, or are dying, as a result of the increased water temperature. To understand the pace at which we are destroying the planet we need not look farther than the reef, which has survived millions of years, but has died in only the last hundred!

The Great Barrier Reef is located across the globe, off the coast of Australia. So many miles away, this reef may seem inconsequential. We might fail to consider that the reef actually affects each and every one of us. For it is home to thousands of animal species, providing safe breeding grounds and ample food. Without it, many marine species would struggle to survive, adversely affecting our own survival in the process. Should a species go extinct or endangered, we should expect a significant loss to our own dwindling food supply.

We can no longer afford to look at the world through a compartmentalized mindset. These are strange times, times when a shortage of organisms (corals) the world over could mean no trout on our dinner plate, no eel in our sushi, no oysters with our champagne. Or no champagne at all L I know that in context of losing an entire species, it seems small and selfish to consider our culinary impoverishments, but they are foreshadowing what is to come.

Our food supply is already meager, considering the current threats to our climate and the growing human population. Even those who don’t consume seafood will surely be affected as other sources of food become overtaxed in consequence of marine depletion.

How can we expect to cope with such changes if we don’t shift our line of sight from our own world to the whole world?

It turns out that Bob Marley, The Buddha, and countless other musicians were right: we are one, at least when it comes to food. Every action is an opportunity to make the world healthier or cause further decay.  Something as simple as composting food scraps rather than sending them to the landfill will decrease world pollution while simultaneously creating fertile, naturally pest-resistant soil ready to grow more food for you and your family. And composting is just the start. 

To learn more about what we all should be doing to combat climate change click here.

I hope I’ve been able to inspire anyone reading this to seek further education on climate change and take action to save our planet. Click on the link above to learn more and for specific ways to help. Remember, the fate of the planet hangs in the balance! For better or worse, we are all in this together.