By Richard Tardif
Another UN climate report is warning that we are on the brink of catastrophe, and in the US, President Trump is reenergizing the old idea of ethanol as a fuel source that will save the planet. It will run our vehicles and make agriculture great again. It’s hypocritical coming from a man trashing climate change and global warming, and it’s self-serving on his part to revisit ethanol as a fuel.
Just how does ethanol connect to your fitness, health and wellness?
Ethanol is produced from biomass mostly via a fermentation process using glucose derived from sugars and starch such as corn, wheat, grains and other additives. Ethanol is a type of alcohol that is safe to drink and can be commonly found in all liquors, beers, wine, and in foods through fermentation. An acre of corn, grown mostly today as stock feed and to produce high fructose syrup, yields about 7,110 pounds of corn for processing into 328 gallons of ethanol. The American Agriculture Department reported that, “planting, growing and harvesting that much corn requires about 140 gallons of fossil fuels and costs $347 per acre.”
This is taking up too much land that can be used for eventually filling your plate with plant based foods and of animal foods and corn grown for feed and other products.
Not only will your health improve by eating plants, you can help save the planet
This is according to the above-mentioned study in the journal Nature, that renewed the idea the food system is a major driver of climate change, changes in land use, depletion of freshwater resources, and pollution of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Put differently, “We are messing with the drivers behind our food sources.” The study reported that as a result of population growth and the continued consumption of Western diets high in red meats and processed foods, the environmental pressures of the food system could increase by up to 90 percent by 2050, long after President Trump’s term in office is done.
The study analyzed several options for reducing the environmental effects of the food system, including dietary changes towards healthier, more plant-based diets, and reductions in food loss and waste.Alarmingly, there was no single measure to keep the negative consequences at bay, but a combination of measures would be needed to sufficiently thwart these increase in environmental pressures.
Ethanol may not be the environmental saviour President Trump claims it to be, and in the end, may be another idea that will make the planet sick, and that makes us sick.
Richard Tardif is a personal fitness trainer, health & fitness author, speaker and an award-winning journalist. Richard’s first book Stop the Denial: A Case for Embracing the Truth About Fitness, challenges, surprises, and inspires you to embrace a fitness lifestyle that will work in achieving your individual goals.
