Sitopian Pollution – – our not so lovely food planet

A Summary of Our Sitopia

Jialing Zhong the big picture November 12, 2020November 12, 2020foodsecurity, sitopia 0 Comment

food on table — The building blocks of our *sitopia*, by Lily Banse, 2017, Unsplash.

Hey there!

We live in a sitopia – a world shaped by food. And food is so much more than just a basic human need – it forms the essence of our culture, with mealtimes being one of the oldest social contracts in history where people come together as a small community to share and enjoy food (Steel, 2020).

But food also has the power to destroy our planet. In our attempts to produce more food than what we can process and consume, the inefficient use of resources causes excess nutrients, dust particles and even toxic substances to enter places where they should not belong – the waterways, soil, atmosphere, as well as living things. Essentially, our actions have been indirectly undermining global food security as we (unintentionally) sabotage our own efforts to produce healthy food to support mankind in a sustainable manner.

Review: Air Pollution, Food Production and Food Security

Jialing Zhong agriculture, the big picture November 12, 2020air, dust, erosion, farmers, fertiliser, foodsecurity, foodwaste, health, ozone, pesticide, review, sitopia, transport 0 Comment

harvesting crops in field — Harvest season in Pesotum, Illinois, by James Baltz, 2019, Unsplash.

When it comes to food production, air pollution is arguably much more prone to being overlooked than soil and water pollution, due to how it cannot be easily identified by the naked eye.

However, another bigger issue is how we tend to only consider the impacts of air pollution from the perspectives of agriculture and public health. On the contrary, there have not been many studies performed on the wider implications of air pollution on food security. Today, our review of a journal article, Air pollution, food production and food security: A review from the perspective of food system, by Sun, Dai and Yu (2017) will focus on how air pollution brings about changes in our food system.

It All Comes Back To Us

Jialing Zhong after nom November 8, 2020November 10, 2020dematerialisation, plastic, water 0 Comment

plastic cutlery arranged to send an important message to humans — A message from humans who care about the planet, by Volodymyr Hryshchenko, 2020, Unsplash.

It is no secret that our food system churns out tons of plastic waste, most of which is associated with packaging. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) (2019) estimates that approximately 14.5 million tons of plastic containers and packaging were generated in 2017, and this makes up 5.3 percent of the country’s municipal solid waste generated for the year. Meanwhile, this data also excludes disposable tableware such as plastic cutlery, bowls, and plates, so this problem is in fact much greater than what the data suggests. Plastic pollution is pervasive on our planet, and it will only get worse if we do not make changes to our habits of consumption and waste disposal.

Guess They Didn’t Die A Hero Then…

Jialing Zhong after nom November 1, 2020November 4, 2020air, foodwaste, ghg, methane, soil, water 0 Comment

fruits and vegetables — Two-thirds in this photo, another third wasted, by Diego Passadori, 2019, Unsplash.

Here’s a recap from our previous post: the environmental impacts of food waste can be classified into two parts – the direct pollution of air, water, and soil, as well as the exacerbation of negative environmental impacts of food production and consumption. This blog entry will zoom in on the environmental pollution which occurs as a direct consequence of food wastage.

When Food Pollutes Our Earth

Jialing Zhong after nom, agriculture November 1, 2020November 1, 2020air, fertiliser, foodwaste, ghg, soil, water 0 Comment

monkey eating watermelon on street — A monkey gobbling up pieces of smashed watermelon on a street in Ubud, Indonesia, by Radoslaw Prekurat, 2017, Unsplash.

Remember how I mentioned that food can be both a victim and perpetrator of environmental pollution in my very first post? Today, we will explore the links between food waste and environmental pollution, to give you a better idea of why we should avoid wasting food if we want to save our planet.

Debate: #supportlocal?

Jialing Zhong agriculture, on the move October 25, 2020October 25, 2020energy, foodmiles, foodsecurity, ghg, sitopia, transport 0 Comment

food on plate — An Asian-style meal, by Drew Taylor, 2018, Unsplash.

A friend once told me of her intention to switch to consuming plant-based milks as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to regular milk, but faced many hurdles in doing so. Apart from the fact that certain types of plant milk (e.g. oat) are much more expensive than regular milk, the issue of additional food miles incurred by the import of these food products also adds a new layer to this dilemma.

The Journey to the Plate

Jialing Zhong on the move October 25, 2020November 1, 2020air, carbondioxide, energy, foodmiles, ghg, ozone, transport 0 Comment

Contrary to popular belief, the concept of food miles is not exactly a new one. In fact, Steel (2020) explains that the globalisation of the food chain started in ancient times, when less perishable types of food were shipped from one place to another via sea routes.

The Devil is in the Grain

Jialing Zhong Uncategorised October 18, 2020October 25, 2020disaster, dust, factory, grain, processing, safety, workers 0 Comment

explosion — This is arguably the worst possible outcome of intensive dust pollution in grain processing plants, by Stephen Radford, 2015, Unsplash.

You already know how the dust and chemical air pollution associated with grain mills and elevators can damage our respiratory health in the long term if you’ve read the previous post. For today, we will discuss one of the most severe consequences of air pollution within grain processing plants – grain dust explosions.

Review: Air Pollution from the Grain Industry

Jialing Zhong Uncategorised October 16, 2020November 1, 2020air, dust, factory, grain, health, processing, review, workers 0 Comment

A grain field in Bad Urach, Germany, by Fabian Keller, 2019, Unsplash.

Here’s a heads-up to those who are sensitive or allergic to dust, or suffer from respiratory illnesses: try to avoid getting a job at a grain mill.

Why? Because grain mills, elevators, and other similar processing plants are rich sources of point-source air pollution. Although somewhat dated, this journal article by Mclouth and Paulus (1961) gives a succinct overview of the types of air pollution that may be present in grain mills and elevators.

The Sad Story of Poisoned Pork (and Beef)

Jialing Zhong agriculture October 11, 2020animals, dioxin, foodscandal, health, livestock, pcb 0 Comment

Processed meat products served on a mixed platter — Because no one enjoys having poison in their delicious ham platter, by Jess May Russell, 2019, Unsplash.

The Irish Potato Famine in the mid-19th century is probably Ireland’s most well-known food-related disaster. But have you ever heard of the Irish Pork Crisis?

(And no, this has got nothing to do with the swine flu.)

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