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If you could go to the grocery store and see a list of “ingredients” that went into your produce, 就像包装食品一样, 你可能会对你的发现感到惊讶.
典型的草莓, 例如, 可能被多菌灵之类的化学物质处理过, 荷尔蒙干扰物, 联苯, 一种疑似致癌物和新烟碱类, 哪些与蜜蜂数量锐减有关. 现在, imagine you could also see the true environmental cost involved: the water used, the transportation miles and the energy that went into getting that ripe, 多汁的水果放到你的盘子里. 你可能会在选择之前三思.
We know that eating a plant-based diet is better for the planet -- a message driven home in study after study -- and it’s a message people have taken to heart. Surveys show Americans are embracing plant-based diets -- with nearly a third identifying as “flexitarians” -- while more than half of Canadians say they’d consider cutting back on meat in the coming year.
总的来说，这是一个积极的趋势. Most meat production has a much higher environmental footprint than fruits, 蔬菜, 谷物和豆类. Relying on plant-based foods for our diets is an effective way to reduce our personal impact on the earth. But having a net positive impact is not as simple as choosing tofu over steak.
事实是, 要充分利用这种饮食习惯的积极转变, bbin游戏官网需要的是批判性地看待bbin游戏官网种植食物的方式.
说到气候变化的主要原因, 大多数人没有考虑到农业的影响. 毕竟, growing food seems like it should be good for the planet. 但两者有着千丝万缕的联系. 传统农业, including growing feed for meat production and deforestation for ranging, contributes almost a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (more than the entire transportation industry, 这只占14%). 与此同时, the runoff from farms -- full of synthetic chemical fertilizers, animal waste and toxic neurochemicals used for pesticides -- is a leading cause of freshwater pollution worldwide.
同时, 大豆等商品作物的单一栽培, 世界上增长最快的作物之一, lead to massive deforestation while depleting the soil of nutrients, requiring vast amounts of fertilizer to maintain or increase yields. 具有讽刺意味的是, this further compromises soil by leading to acidification and fouling nearby water supplies. 与此同时, synthetic chemical pesticides applied to protect our food so it can get to our plates are often comprised of highly toxic compounds that can accumulate in the ecosystem -- and our bodies -- leading to adverse effects on biodiversity and human health.
此外，气候变化的复杂性也在增加. The increasing popularity of plant-based diets comes at a time when it’s becoming harder to grow crops of all kinds. 已经, 加州等地出现了创纪录的干旱, 哪个国家为美国提供了大量的农产品, have led to smaller harvests of everything from grapes to grains, 以及不断上涨的食品价格. And studies predict rising global temperatures will drastically increase the number of crops lost each year due to pests, which could result in additional losses of 10%-25% for each degree rise in global temperature.
那么解决方法是什么呢? 有机革命是朝着正确方向迈出的一步. It’s the closest thing we’ve got to an environmental and health seal of approval. Yet less than 1% of land in the United States is designated organic. 虽然更多的有机农场会给世界带来好处, competing and unclear certification systems and a three-year transition and remediation period for soil to be deemed organic make the process challenging and slow.
但现在有些事情是可以做的. And it starts with bringing the IT revolution to agriculture.
在环境岌岌可危的情况下, agriculture is ripe for the kind of targeted data collection and innovation that has revolutionized everything from cancer treatment to smart home thermostats. 同样令人费解的技术, 例如, allow Alexa to order you a pizza can enable us to grow more food -- and healthier food -- while reducing the draw on precious resources such as land and water and using fewer chemicals. In short, it’s time to bring farming from the industrial age to the digital age.
已经, companies are experimenting with LED “light recipes” to increase yields in indoor greenhouses and extend the growing season into the winter months. 其他人, 像Semios, have developed high-tech sensors that allow for real-time monitoring and response to plant threats. Trace Genomics uses sophisticated tests to monitor the health of soil DNA. And my own company develops technology that precision targets organic treatments to plants, 一直到细胞水平, 改善作物健康，更好地控制害虫. 因此，农民可以用更少的钱种植更多的作物.
Admittedly, we’re still a ways away from these approaches becoming mainstream. But bestsellers like In Defense Of Food and Fast Food Nation show that more and more consumers are conscious of what they’re eating and the benefits of a plant-based diet. With this comes greater awareness of not only where our food comes from but the impact it has on the world around us -- and on our own bodies. 毕竟, we’re increasingly cautious about oxybenzone in sunscreens and the BPA that lines water bottles. But we put the plants we eat -- along with everything that’s been applied to them -- inside our bodies.
使植物性饮食对地球的益处最大化, 对bbin游戏官网自己来说, 要求bbin游戏官网重新规划种植食物的方式. We still need to feed the world and ensure clean food is affordable and accessible. 但bbin游戏官网现在有机会带来信息技术的力量, artificial intelligence and other technologies to agriculture -- to use data science to take the guesswork out of crop health and do more with less.
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