Most of us are unaware that the food we are eating is causing damage to biodiversity. A recent study was conducted to assess the biodiversity footprints of 151 popular dishes all across the world revealing the impact of food items on the ecosystem. The food item that has caused the highest damage to biodiversity is a roast lamb dish from Spain including beef and meat that are commonly consumed in Brazil. The study says that dishes containing meat tend to have a greater impact on biodiversity as compared to vegetarian and vegan dishes. Surprisingly, Idli, the famous South Indian dish, is ranked sixth on the list and Kidney beans popular as Rajma are also included in the latest study.
Luis Roman Carrasco, Associate Professor of Biological Science at the National University of Singapore said that each dish based on its ingredients has an impact on the species and wild mammals, birds and amphibians. Luis explained that the biodiversity footprint represents the number of species that have been at least partially impacted to produce that dish. It gives us an idea of how many species we’re pushing closer to extinction by eating that dish.
“The large impact of legumes and rice in India was a surprise, but when you think about it, it makes sense. In our analysis, the biodiversity footprint represents the number of species that have been at least partially impacted to produce that dish. The biodiversity footprint gives us an idea of how many species we’re pushing closer to extinction by eating that dish,” he said.
Now it is important to consider that the food items we are eating must not have a negative impact on our biodiversity.
One of the main problems that is damaging biodiversity is the expansion of agriculture. The study claims that non-vegetarian food dishes in particular harm the environment. However, the study further stated, that despite the production of rice and legumes, India has been successfully coexisting with biodiversity due to a large proportion of the population being vegetarians.
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