i just want him to eat my burger when we're hungry we're hungry so we tend to eat accordingly
but some of our faves are also technically our enemies so here's the 4-1-1 on the 10
most controversial foods in the world we should be careful avocado it has avocado on it you might
want to put down that avocado toast millennials because that deliciously creamy green fruit you've
spread all over that bread actually takes quite the heavy toll on the planet that's right it's the
culprit you never knew existed and how could this be so let's rip this one off like a band-aid since
we know this news hurts already in the michoacan mountains of mexico where a lot of the avocado
production goes down the associated press reports that both the production and the planting of
avocado trees uses double the amount of water of a pretty dense forest now that's a lot of resources
oh that's too much avocados are so controversial that the duchess of sussex meghan markle came
under visceral media attack for enjoying some avocado toast during her pregnancy because of
the fruit's connection to this water controversy well apparently our collective love for avocados
has gone up so immensely that between 2001 and 2010 avocado production in the michoacan mountains
tripled in addition to the water concerns there is also the chemicals used in the process and the
amount of wood used to pack and ship the delicious avocados worldwide to contend with so like the
duchess who is attempting to tend to her pregnancy cravings in a healthy way we all have been
innocently enjoying our avocados in peace while the environment has been experiencing the opposite
as a result acai hand me the acai grab onto your acai bowls just a moment longer and take one last
pick for the gram because after this you might be looking for a new superfood to energize your body
so remember when acai became all the rage was it before or after kale anyways all you really need
to know is that the source of antioxidants and fiber etc that we've all been enjoying and feeling
super pumped about is actually cultivated by young children climbing trees as tall as 60 feet high
according to the washington post these children are equipped with blades and the job is so
life-threatening it is actually labeled the most dangerous job in brazil it's too
dangerous we'll die so the acai that fitness gurus recommended because of its extraordinary health
benefits is putting children's lives into extraordinary peril the reason why so many
children climb these dangerously tall trees is because the trees are also notoriously thin
making the weight of an adult potentially too great for the trees to uphold translation adults
can more easily snap it so we've got little kids climbing trees playing george the jungle all so
that someone can get their post gym workout meal just right something's just not right about that
bananas our potassium fix just got tainted and we don't know how to feel about it that's right we're
talking about the one the only the incredible banana so according to one green planet bananas
are one of the most widely consumed foods on the planet way to go bananas no surprise there as
bananas are awesome but don't pop the champagne just yet even though an american will eat an
average of a hundred of these yellow crescent fruits over the course of a year exporting
these heavily produced fruits actually has a heavy impact on the planet ecuador costa rica colombia
guatemala and the philippines are all the leading exporters of bananas worldwide why do we have to
choose our leaders and sometimes our beloved fruit has to travel exceptionally far distances to reach
its destination especially when they're out of season for example here's a crazy fact bananas
travel 5 106 miles just to reach the united kingdom think about the co2 in the atmosphere
that's a lot of pollution now that's bananas someone should tell george senior that just
because there's money in the banana stand doesn't mean there isn't a lot of pollution coffee coffee
coffee solves everything time to momentarily put down your dunkins and starbucks people things are
about to get a little testy especially since you might be skipping your caffeine fix after this one
so you know how like clockwork you reach for that coffee every morning to get that kick to start
your day well as it turns out coffee has been kicking the environments behind for a while now
coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world so we're sure that a lot of people are gonna
feel our inner turmoil on this one but as far as the global impact of coffee is concerned according
to global citizen deforestation is a huge problem like really big coffee beans are normally produced
in latin america and the increased demand has led to a clearing of 2.5 million acres of forest in
central america that's just for the production of coffee so next time you order that grande with all
the fixins you might want to inquire as to whether or not it's fair trade and sure enough if you do
you'll be told that 99 of starbucks coffee is in fact ethically sourced close call there we
wouldn't want to give up our frappuccinos now would we also for all you duncan lovers
out there don't you worry because the coffee and donuts chain uses 100 fair trade certified coffee
so america you're covered bagged salad salad in a bag his idea now most of us are guilty of grabbing
a bag of salad every once in a while when we're short on time lettuce can be a nuisance to prepare
and so bagged salad does all of that extra work for us but apparently that bagged salad packaged
in plastic is one of the most thrown away food items supposedly approximately 40 percent of
britain's bagged salad is tossed into the trash for two main reasons the first is that when the
product is purchased it's bought with no specific meal in mind i don't know what i was thinking the
second is that the expiration dates are always on the conservative side and so with the plastic
packaging and environmental cost of transportation of this product combined you're looking at a
pretty controversial product plus there's always the decline in flavor of the bagged salad to
contend with too so in the end bagged salad is not really the best product for sustainability or
taste we can get using it in a pinch but maybe try not to make too much of a habit of it since
it's not great for the environment and it also tends to be pretty costly for your wallets too
soybeans oh soy beans sorry in advance for the vegetarians vegans and non-meat-eaters out there
but your beloved soy products are not as innocent as one might think the increase in demand for soy
has led to complete destruction of the supply in other words those soybeans are leading to
some major deforestation okay so here's the deal soybeans are normally grown in latin america and
according to the telegraph approximately four million hectares of forest are destroyed per
year because of them that's a lot the main forests hit are atlantic forests the ground choco and the
amazon so while you may have a million and one good reasons for using a soy substitute in your
meal actually your desire for that soy is leading to the deforestation of millions of hectares worth
of essential ecosystems sometimes trendy foods inadvertently result in devastating consequences
and unfortunately by the sounds of it soybeans are one of them rice white rice brown rice those
are just some of the rices i love okay some of the facts with this next one are mind-blowing
so rice is controversial did you hear about this well we didn't either as it turns out mitch
hedberg was right rice is great when you want to eat 2 000 of something but when you're making so
much of something there's probably quite a lot of resources that go into the process
catch our logic well we know mitch would have in any event apparently these little grains that we
love so much and eat so much of take up a lot of water and we mean a lot how much you might ask
how about one third of the world's annual fresh water unbelievable you see more than 50 percent
of the world's population rely on this stable food item to fill their bellies daily according to the
guardian the production of one kilo of rice uses 2497 liters of water and on top of that to make
matters worse some research indicates that a rise in methane emissions can be linked to activities
of microbes in wetlands and rice paddies so while we love our rice we can't say we love these facts
palm oil is it palm oil because it's destroying our rainforests palm is the arch enemy of forestry
in fact palm is one of the greatest drivers of deforestation on the planet so if the forest
is superman here then palm is kind of like it's kryptonite so before enjoying your nut butters
you may want to ask yourself is there palm oil in this if the answer is no then you're good
to go but if the answer is yes then you may want to pay attention for a quick second the palm oil
issue is so bad that it is actually killing some of the world's most bio-diverse forests including
destroying essential habitats for such endangered species as the pygmy elephant sumatran rhino and
the orangutan also there are reports of links to worker exploitation and child labor as well
so palm oil is loaded with controversy but is your food loaded with palm oil that is the question
well it may be trickier than you'd think to find out if that truly is the case you really want
to know sure according to the world wildlife fund palm oil is in almost everything more specifically
you can find the highly contentious oil in up to 50 percent of packaged foods in supermarkets
including pizza doughnuts and chocolate yep we can hear the gasps nationwide on this one it
can be kind of tricky to figure out if there's palm oil in your product too it takes a little
bit of reading between the lines most of the time palm oil is simply listed as vegetable oil in the
ingredients list which can make it tricky to pick up on its presence in our food but since palm oil
is high in saturated fats if the product is as well chances are you got yourself a product that
includes palm oil it's not a surefire way to tell but there's a high likelihood you will be right
sugar sugar i didn't get any sugar there's good news and bad news with this one which do you
want first well we're gonna start by giving you the good news the good news is you already knew
that sugar was bad for you the bad news is sugar is also really bad for the planet so while your
dentist has been warning you about the effects of sugar all of these years and your doctor
has been reminding you about it too now you've got environmentalists to contend with as well
now you listen to me according to the wwf sugar is actually one of the crops considered to be one
of the worst culprits for the environment sugar plantations replace essential animal plant and
insect habitats the industry uses a high amount of water pesticides and its cultivation causes
erosion so on top of the connection to issues such as obesity and diabetes sugar is also harming the
environment and if you didn't know now you do beef beef salad beef on the cob beef fried beef
beef has been known to stir up a little controversy from time to time for many reasons
whether it's animal welfare or methane and gas contributions to the atmosphere
a lot of people have serious beef with the beef industry so you may already know that
the cattle industry has a huge effect on the environment because of its emissions of such
greenhouse gases as methane nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide but did you know that the
production of your beef also takes up 28 times more land than the production of chicken or pork
not only that but it necessitates 11 times more water to produce as well
oh my god so much effort that's a lot of real estate and resources so it would seem that the
beef industry has more haters than just oprah in the 1990s oprah was actually sued in 1997 by
a group of cattle industry executives for saying that a conversation she had stopped me cold from
eating another burger so while beefing with the beef industry could land even oprah in court
it's still worth knowing the facts ah controversy it spins like a hamster on a wheel check out
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