Ankur Shah

One of the biggest contributors to rainforest destruction is palm oil. This is closely followed by coffee plantations, cacao for chocolate, and eventually our methods for producing food including both, plant and animal agriculture. I strongly believe that we consumers must be aware of what we buy and how it is made. In our modern societies, we have been disconnected from the process of manufacturing. The food we need is ready for purchasing in the supermarket aisles and all we have to do is put it in our trolleys and pay for it at the cash register. We lack awareness of how the food was made, where it was made, who was responsible for it, and most importantly, the negative consequences of its manufacturing. In indigenous hunter gatherer societies, the people hunted and foraged their own food so they truly knew what it did for them and the environment. We have shifted the responsibility for foraging or growing our own food to other people (companies included) who we do not know. While I am not suggesting we have to revert back to those ways, we should certainly learn from the practices of hunter-gatherers and be more aware of the impacts of our food. Another extremely important aspect of the food we buy is what it does to our bodies and how it affects our health on all levels. It is extremely important that we learn where our food is coming from and what harm or good it can do to our health. Ultimately, what we do to ourselves, we do to the world. I highly recommend buying local grown food or trying to forage some plants as its not only beneficial to the environment but also greatly more beneficial to our health. If you are healthy, you can help yourself and those around you.