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Plants Saving America: How a Plant Based Diet Could Help Cure
Obesity
Americans today are consuming a diet that is far from natural. The
typical American meal has morphed, consisting mostly of highly refined
grains, large amounts of meats and poultry, and processed foods with many
added sugar and fats. It has become extremely difficult for people today to
integrate the proper amount of fruits and vegetables into their diets. It
seems that the general American population is misguided and confused
about what they should actually be consuming in their diets. A little over ten
years ago, the general public was told that pepperoni pizza contained all the
nutrients needed for one meal. Tomato sauce was listed as the fruit and
vegetable, the pepperoni provided the protein, and the flour in the dough
supposedly counted as the starch and grain leading to a balanced diet.
Typically, indulging a meal of pizza is not accompanied by any fruits or
vegetables. The meal is often times paired up with either oil or fat soaked
bread and soda. Although more education in regards to unhealthy eating
habits has been provided, Americans have not changed much in their habits
over the ten years. The American diet is directly impacting the growing
epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and
Type-2 Diabetes in the United States. Another contributor to this growing
problem is the lack of exercise, which many tend to blame for problems such
as obesity, however the dietary choices are actually a larger issue, and one
which must first be tackled. There is an alternative way to feed the
American population while also drastically reducing if not eliminating the
obesity epidemic, and the solution is for Americans to go on a whole foods
and plant based diet. The term whole refers to foods that are unprocessed
and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being
consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added salt, carbohydrates,
or fat (Fisher, 2013). Typically, a plant based diet consists of mainly fruits,
vegetables, tubers, legumes, nuts, and grains. When maintaining a plant
based diet the incentive is to incorporate as broad of a range of fruits and
vegetables as possible. These diets also include severely limiting the intake
of meats, dairy products, and eggs, and also excluding processed foods with
bleached flour, refined sugar, and oils.
difference between the food groups. This makes it hard to depict what to
buy, when comparing food items in different food groups merely based on
price. How much food costs is dependent on the choices consumers make
about food. With the wide range of choices available, how do consumers
understand the true costs and value of food? Elizabeth Shepard (2015), from
the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences provides
an example, (even though it is not recommended to consume salmon in a
plant based diet), of how one can begin to determine the connection
between value and price. Imagine a consumer is in the mood for salmon, and
there are multiple options either at a restaurant or grocery store. The lowest
priced salmon is canned, the median priced salmon is farm raised, and the
highest price is wild caught Coho salmon plucked from Bristol Bay in Alaska
and flown straight to a landing strip behind the restaurant or grocery store.
All three choices are salmon, but due to the way they were caught,
processed, packaged, and shipped the price differs for each. Similarly, when
a food item like fruits or vegetables have been more processed, in means of
ways to preserve them by either canning or pickling, that food item tends to
cost the cheapest. Even though these types of food items may be the
cheapest, more times than not it is the least wholesome of the choices. A
benefit of canned foods are that they are easy to store and generally do not
expire quickly. The ingredient sodium is usually added to canned foods to
extend persevering time. When deciding between canned products it is
recommended to choose low-sodium, reduced-sodium or no-salt-added
labeled foods. Pertaining to mainly fruits, they are often canned in syrups
that contain added sugars and artificial sweeteners. It is best to choose fruits
that are canned in water or natural fruit juices. Frozen fruits and vegetables
are picked at the peak of ripeness and then flash frozen to preserve optimal
nutritional value. They are able to last for several months in the freezer and
can be an economical choice. Furthermore, nutrition labels should be
checked on frozen fruits and vegetables, to assure the food product is 100%
real fruits and vegetables with no added sugars. It is also wise to check food
labels, reason being some types of the frozen fruits and vegetables come
with seasonings and sauces that can contain excess sodium, oils, and fats.
Frozen fruits and vegetables are recognized to contain the highest nutritional
value when compared to price, being one of the most cost effective product
(AHA, 2015). Fresh fruits and vegetables contain no additives. Depending on
the geographic location where people live in the United States, a large
portion of fruits and vegetables have certain in seasons the produce is
available. When purchasing fresh produce at grocery stores and markets
products are often imported from long distances. Buying produce that is local
and/or organic may be slightly more expensive to the eyes initially. But it
often provides the consumer with fresher fruits and vegetables when
purchasing them locally and in season. The slight additional money that is
being spent is directly benefitting the consumers body and health by
consuming the fresh produce that contains wholesome nutritional value.
Also, the produce does not have to endure long travel and transportation
There has been an extreme transition in what Americans eat and the
way they eat it. Recalling to the time where humans were hunters and
gathers, they had no reassurance of when their next meal was to come or
where it would come from. These humans had to fight and scavenge for
their every meal. Under the conditions they had to survive in, they became
undyingly grateful for every morsel of food they could get their hands on.
However, once humans became sedentary creatures and adapted to a new
life style the attitude towards food changed. Throughout time, humans have
been able to establish a sole living space due to the innovations of
agriculture and technologies. This more stable lifestyle has greatly lessened
the uncertainty of finding and consuming food. When the change to this life
style first began, food was in a slight excess, however, there was a large
amount of labor that was dedicated the growing of foods, and thus an
extreme appreciation for agriculture. Humans depended greatly on natural
good baseline to guide people along their health and fitness goals (CDC,
2015).
A plant based diet requires an array of fresh fruits and vegetables all
year round. There are multiple types of alternative farming that allow for
people to either grow their own crops individually or have the harvested
produce available locally for the entire population. One great one is a newer
type of vertical farming called Aquaponics. The aquaponics system works by
recirculating water that contains waste, bacteria, and nutrients from fish that
live in it, and then taking the recycled water and using it to feed the plants.
The plants sit upon floating rafts and the root system dangle down into the
water, so no soil is necessary. The plants filter out the water by absorbing
the nitrogen rich nutrients that the fish provide. Then, fresh water is pumped
back to the fish, and the process continues. The most common fish that are
used for this type of habitat are catfish and tilapia, and they are fed all
organic fish food, which will have only a positive effect on the plant growth.
This system eliminates the need for fertilizers, pesticides, and lowers the
high prices of farm equipment. The initial costs to construct an aquaponic
farm can be on the expensive side, however, they more than make up for the
cost in time. They are relatively easy to maintain, and can be created in all
sizes depending on the desired crop yield. This way of commercial farming
reduces water usage by 90% compared to traditional farming, and has the
added health benefits (Chow, 2015).
which would already be controlled by diet. The untold possibility of what the
United States could accomplish if we were to become synergistic, and part
take together to create an environment with a whole new outlook. When will
people realize food does not just feed the stomach, but the body as a whole?
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