It‘s Impossible To Eat Healthfully. Here‘s Why

By Milbank News Writer -

March 29, 2019

Increasing awareness of the impact of diet on health has led many people to reconsider what’s on their plate. For some, this may mean steering clear of processed foods and sugary drinks, for others cutting down on red meat. But eating healthily is not just about what we eat. It’s also about how food is produced. 

For millions around the world, hidden killers in our broken food system make healthy eating impossible, says a new report that warns of the damage from air pollution, water contamination and antibiotic resistance. The report, released on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, calls for a redesign of the food industry. 

Food has been as a major cause of health problems in the U.S., with of all deaths due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Yet, even if we improve diet, we are still exposed to the damaging health impacts of what the report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation calls the “industrial” way that food is produced. By 2050, warns the report, around 5 million people a year could die. 

“The way we produce food today is not only extremely wasteful and damaging to the environment, it is causing serious health problems,” said Ellen MacArthur, founder of the foundation and former record-breaking sailor. “People around the world need food that is nutritious, and that is also grown, produced and delivered in a way that benefits their health, the environment and the economy.”

According to the report, overuse and misuse of antibiotics in fish and livestock farming contributes to the and antibiotics to humans via waterways and the environment. Antibiotic resistance – which could make it impossible to treat common infections – may cost society as much as $125 trillion by 2050, says the report, with food and agriculture responsible for up to 22 percent of those costs.

Agriculture is estimated to be responsible for as much as 20 percent of air pollution deaths around the world, mainly due to the overuse of fertilizers and manure, according to the report. Farmworker exposure to pesticides costs $900 billion globally, with long-term exposure to low levels of pesticides linked to , and . 

The other major killer is poor wastewater management or irrigation, which is to blame for spreading diseases and contaminating drinking water.