Latest / Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson / Sustainable Eating: Lab Grown Meat to Farmed Fish

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Sustainable Eating: Lab Grown Meat to Farmed Fish · Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson

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  >> Dr. Terry Simpson: Today we're talking about something that's gaining more attention than
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  ever. Sustainable eating. Now I know what you're
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  thinking. What's sustainable eating and why should I care?
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  Buckle up. Because this isn't just
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  about saving the planet. It's about making
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  smarter, healthier food choices that benefit both you
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  and the environment. Isn't it odd if you
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  eat something that's healthy for the planet, it
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  turns out it's also healthy for your
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  body.
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  I am, um, your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terri
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  Simpson, and this is Fork U Fork
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  University, where we bust myths, make sense of the
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  madness, and teach you a little about food and
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  medicine.
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  So let's start with the basics. Sustainable
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  eating means choosing foods that are not only healthy for
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  you, but have a low impact on the environment.
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  It's about making choices that support long term
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  ecological balance, reduce the greenhouse gas
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  emissions, minimize food waste and
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  protect biodiversity. We're talking
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  about eating in a way that ensures future generations can
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  also have access to fresh, healthy food. But
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  here's the kicker. It doesn't mean you have to
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  become a full time environmental activist.
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  It's about small manageable shifts.
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  Choosing plant based meals over meat, heavy ones,
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  buying locally grown produce, or cutting down on food waste.
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  All of this matters. So why should you care?
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  Because the obvious environmental reasons.
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  Sustainable eating can also improve your personal
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  health. I know you've heard about the Mediterranean
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  diet, which is packed with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy
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  fats. But guess what? It's sustainable.
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  By reducing your intake of animal rich products, you
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  can lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes
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  and even certain cancers. But beyond that, you're
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  also reducing your carbon footprint. The environmental impact
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  of producing animal based foods is far greater than
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  plant based ones. We're talking about the massive
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  amounts of water, energy and land used to raise
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  livestock. It's not about what's on your plate,
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  it's about the system that gets it there. Okay,
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  so how can you start making better food choices today?
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  Here's a few practical. Eat more plants.
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  The environmental footprint of plants is far smaller than
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  that of, uh, meat and dairy. You don't have to go full
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  vegan. I certainly couldn't do that. But incorporating more
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  plant based meals into your routine will make a difference.
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  You know, you might be like my friends down the road who are
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  calling themselves Chigans. Yes, I know, they
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  want to come over and have me make a steak and that's just fine.
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  You know, supporting local farmers and reducing the carbon
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  footprint of your food by choosing products that's in season and grow
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  nearby is great. And Delicious. We
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  here in California have an abundance of local
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  markets. One of my favorite ones is in Ojai, where I can find
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  fresh and sustainably grown options. And yes,
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  the carrots that they have and the berries they have are
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  better than any I can find in the supermarket. But hey,
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  I know not everyone has access to local markets. And
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  buying local can sometimes be more expensive or
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  less practical, depending upon where you live. Here's the good
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  news. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables
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  can be a great alternative. They're often
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  just as nutritious as fresh produce. And unlike
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  the items in your refrigerator that can wilt and spoil,
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  they won't go bad before you eat them. Frozen
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  fruits and vegetables are typically harvested at their peak
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  ripeness and frozen immediately, which means they
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  retain maximal nutritional value. They're a
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  great option because you can store them for longer and have
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  them available when you need them. No waste, no rushing
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  to eat them before they go bad. Canned fruits and
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  veggies are also affordable and long lasting. And if you're
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  careful about the brands that don't add excessive
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  sodium or sugar, they can be as healthy as their fresh
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  counterparts. That also helps reduce
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  food waste. It's estimated that nearly 40% of
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  food in the US goes to waste. Planning your meals, using
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  leftovers. Composting food scraps helps you.
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  You know that onion that's been sitting on my counter that I now have to
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  throw away? The sliced onions in my
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  freezer can be thrown into my saucepan and
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  immediately made to make the basis of a meal.
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  And guess what? I didn't have to watch that lonely
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  onion slowly become compost.
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  Now I want to bring up something that's incredibly exciting
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  in the world of, uh, sustainable eating. Lab
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  based meat. It's one of the most talked about
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  innovations in food production today. And for good
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  reason. Lab grown meat, or so called culture
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  meat, is produced by cultivating animal cells in
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  a lab rather than raising and slaughtering animals.
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  This has huge implications for sustainability.
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  Why does it matter? Because if we're serious about
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  reducing the environmental impact of food production, we
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  need to address the carbon footprint of raising
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  livestock. Traditional meat production is responsible
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  for a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions,
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  Amazon deforestation, land and water use. But the
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  lab grown meat, it drastically cuts down
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  on all of that. Now, before you go thinking this is
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  some futuristic fantasy, it's actually happening.
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  Companies are already producing lab grown chicken, beef, even
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  seafood. The sustainability benefits are impressive.
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  Less land use. You don't need vast tracts of land to
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  raise animals. Less water. Producing lab grown
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  meat significantly reduces the amount of water
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  compared to traditional livestock farming and lower, uh,
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  emissions. Cutting out the need for livestock farming helps
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  slash greenhouse gas emissions,
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  AKA lots of cows farting.
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  But here's where things get a little heated in the marketplace.
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  Many grifters out there want to push you toward grass fed
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  beef and there's nothing wrong with that choice. In fact, that
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  can be a better option than conventional beef. But let me
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  be clear. As much as grass fed
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  beef sounds great, there are some
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  that taste awful. Why?
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  Because not all pastures have grass or forage that
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  tastes great. So if you spent a lot of money buying some
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  of that beef thinking it was better for you and it didn't
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  taste that great, you weren't wrong.
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  Others will say, oh, there's more omega 3 fatty acids than the grass fed
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  ones. That's not that much more. In
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  fact, you'll find 100 times more omega 3
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  fatty acids in the wild caught or farm raised salmon that
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  we're going to talk about later. The truth is, grass fed
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  beef may be a better option and certainly a better
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  environmental option, but there are still many
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  variables involved including taste, cost and
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  even how it's raised.
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  Now let's talk about sustainable seafood.
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  There's a lot of buzz about wild caught versus farm raised
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  fish, especially when it comes to salmon. A lot of people give
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  farm raised salmon a bad rap, but it
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  tastes delicious and if you're concerned about the environment,
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  it can be a great choice when done responsibly.
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  The farming practices for salmon have evolved and many
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  operations now use methods that have
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  minimal environmental impact. Here's a fun
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  yes, farm raised salmon does get colored.
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  It is not some chemical concoction that you should be
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  afraid of. They add coloring to the fish food, which is
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  actually the same coloring that wild salmon get when
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  they eat krill in the ocean. It's
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  all natural and it helps give salmon that beautiful
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  pink hue. So don't let the rumors about fish coloring
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  scare you off. In fact, the coloring called
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  astaxanthin is actually found on your supplement
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  shelf as anti inflammatory supplement.
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  You can get all of that by eating farm raised salmon.
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  So when choosing farm raised fish though, be sure it's coming from
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  sustainable farms which are now being regulated
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  and certified to meet high
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  environmental and health standards. Seafood
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  watch.org seafood
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  watch.org I'll repeat it again.
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  Seafoodwatch.org does a remarkable job of
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  helping you find the places where you can get sustainable
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  fish, whether wild caught or salmon as opposed to
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  fish that are caught in very bad areas or not.
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  Using practices, etc. Here's the
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  bottom line. Sustainable eating is about
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  making conscientious choices that reduce your
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  environmental impact and they do
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  nourish your body even better. You don't have to be
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  perfect, none of us are. But you can do your part.
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  And guess what? Your health will thank you too.
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  So next time you're at the grocery store, think about where your food comes
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  from and how it's affecting the planet.
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  If it's a little more eco friendly, great. If not,
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  that's okay too. Just think about making
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  small steps in the right direction.
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  This has been 4Q where we bring you the truth about food,
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  science and everything in between. If you found this episode
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  helpful, share it with someone who could use a little more
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  sustainable eating in their life. And please follow me
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  on Substack, where
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  I'm@tsimpson.substack.com
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  or TikTok, where I'm Rterry Simpson and
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  apparently Instagram seems to be growing like crazy.
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  This podcast was researched and written by me, Dr. Terry
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  Simpson and while I am a board certified physician, I
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  am not your doctor. If you're making dietary changes,
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  please see your Western trained doctor and registered
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  dietitian, not a chiropractor or some eastern trained
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  shaman. Simpler Media handled all things
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  audio and distribution with the help of the pod God,
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  Mr. Evo Pera.
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  Have a good sustainable week everybody.
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  Remember when we tested that version of Lab based Burger
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  and made a podcast about it? Now I want
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  that burger. I
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  have fond memories of that burger. In fact,
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  I've actually incorporated some of the nuggets into
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  my diet as well. Really, really
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  good Stu.