David Attenborough calls it “Our biggest mistake.” What can we do to put things right?
At Your Food Collective we invite people to come with us on a journey into the food we eat, how it’s produced and the impact it has on our planet. Fortunately, there’s a real ground swell of content on the topic, from movies to podcasts to books to news articles. We like to share some of what we’re watching/listening/ reading, because it’s really important. We hope that you find it as engaging as we do.
In his recent film “A life on this Planet” David Attenborough depicts our world on the edge of the next mass extinction event. Not just carbon, the film highlights a less widely accepted risk: the widespread loss of biodiversity. The irony is that we have broken the fragile natural balance that has allowed us to proliferate as a species.
It’s heavy, but it’s an important story. As with all Attenborough films, its visually stunning. This film also provides more of a glimpse into Attenborough’s life exploring the mysteries of nature.
His solutions are clear, but challenging. In addition to accelerating the shift to renewables and stopping deforestation, Attenborough suggests some profound changes to the way we’re currently living.
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Slow population growth -through elimination of poverty, improving access to health care globally and supporting girls to stay at school for as long as possible.
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Rewild the planet – Restore biodiversity across the globe. Diverse ecosystems are resilient and have the ability to sustain the systems and process that we rely on to maintain life, like carbon sequestration.
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Reduce the space needed for food production – If we can reduce the space we need for food production we can make space for restoring biodiversity. The easiest way to do this is to change our diets. If we all ate a largely plant based diet, David argues we would need roughly half the land we currently use.
Where do you start? What can we do as individuals?
Key to three of the solutions is food production and distribution. That gets us excited at Your Food Collective, because that’s the reason the company exists. The way our food reaches our plates is a powerful mechanism for change and something that we do every day.
At the Collective we’re helping people eat well and help save the planet. Our farmers use sustainable practices; many use regenerative practices that help restore biodiversity (Check out rotational grazing practices at Hunter Natural). We also have a sizable and growing range of plant-based meat alternatives and vegetarian prepared meals.
We hope you’ll join us if you’ve not already, and that you’ll spread the word if you’re already part of the community. Together we can start eating for biodiversity.
Want to learn more about the local farmers in the Collective? Check out their stories here.
