Foodprints for the Future

Food or Foe

The safety and sustainability of our food is a hot button issue right now, with alarming new studies finding microplastics in all of our proteins, including meat and shellfish, and increasingly frequent warnings about harmful food dyes in processed foods. Many of us are discovering that the rules about what Americans can eat are far more lax than they are elsewhere in the world. In Europe for example, many food dyes are banned. 

But it’s not just microplastics and dyes in our food that are major issues — intensive farming has degraded soil health and poisoned the environment with pesticides and fertilizer run-off, while energy and water-intensive farming practices have severely impacted biodiversity and further stressed drought-stricken areas. 

There’s a lot of information out there about what we’re putting on our plate, but there’s also a lot of misinformation — often pushed by companies hoping to influence your consumption habits, for better or worse. To help you sort out fact from fiction, we’ve put together an overview of topics ranging from the health risks of microplastic ingestion to ways you can support ethical and low-intensity food production. 

The Simple Genius of Good Soil

One of EARTHDAY.ORG’s major campaign areas is regenerative agriculture, something that sounds high brow but is essentially just about caring for our soil and farming in ways which harness natural processes in order to grow high quality food. 

Regenerative agriculture, a growing (no pun intended!) is an increasing area of focus within environmental science. It promotes no-till farming and clever grazing strategies which are less environmentally intensive than traditional large-scale agricultural operations. 

One of the key principles of regenerative agriculture is maintaining soil health. Healthy soil is not only fantastic at carbon storage, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, healthier soil also allows more diverse and productive ecosystems to flourish, resulting in higher yields, better quality produce, and reduced spread of pests and diseases. 

One thing you can do to support regenerative agriculture is to buy certified organic food and ethically sourced products whenever possible. Some food labels actively promote regenerative practices too. A few reputable certification labels to look for in the grocery store include: Certified Naturally Grown, Fair-Trade Certified, and Non-GMO verified. For a complete list of food labels and what they mean, check out foodprint.org

If you want to learn more about regenerative agriculture, keep an eye out for Common Ground, a brand new documentary coming out on Earth Day, April 22, on Amazon Prime, that will fill you in on all of the ways that caring for our soil not only benefits us, but the entire planet.

Food to Dye For

Choosing organic and ethically-sourced items will also help you to avoid another hidden danger lurking in many processed foods: artificial colorants. Colorants are used in everything from candy and soda to lipstick and lotions, but while they give products an eye-catching color, these dyes often contain harmful chemicals. 

You may have heard about the most infamous of these, Red Dye No. 3, which was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1990 from being used in cosmetic products as it was found to cause cancer in rats. And yet, food continued to be fair game. 

On January 15, 2025, however, the FDA banned the use of Red Dye No. 3 in all food products, requiring companies to start removing the dye from all of their products, beginning in early 2027. While this is a major step in getting these colorants out of our food, there are still 8 other synthetic dyes being used in FDA-approved products. 

So, for the time being, if food is processed and an unnaturally bright color, it might be wise to avoid it!

Plastic Food (No, Not the Fun Kind that Barbie Eats)

While the human body is an amazing thing, our internal systems are simply not designed to ingest plastic. So, it’s not only surprising but pretty concerning that there is growing evidence that we all are consuming it.

For more than 20 years, scientists have known about the tiny pieces of plastic, known as “microplastics,” that are produced as plastics begin to break down. But only in 2022, when microplastics were found in the human body for the first time, did researchers really begin to understand the health risks they pose. 

Studies have shown that, based on the amount of microplastics discovered in the air and in various food sources like bottled water, beer, seafood and red meat, the average person ingests up to 120,000 plastic particles a year. 

Research suggests the health implications of ingesting microplastics and their additive chemicals are particularly relevant to babies, both before and after birth. As part of its End Plastics Campaign, EARTHDAY.ORG published the report, Babies Vs. Plastic, which outlines the sources and risks of plastic contamination to human health, with a focus on babies and young children. 

But people of all ages are susceptible to plastic-related health issues. Some studies report finding associations between microplastics and specific cancers, as well as other diseases such as Alzheimer’s. A new study of heart patients undergoing plaque removal surgery found polyethylene microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in nearly 60% of patients, and concluded that the buildup of MNPs in their arteries made them much more susceptible to heart attacks, strokes and death. 

Clearly, we need to get plastics off the menu! There are a few easy ways to help reduce your microplastic intake by making simple changes to your diet. 

One way is to avoid eating too much red meat and shellfish. Studies have found that they contain high levels of microplastics, tiny plastic particles, though new evidence shows that microplastic can be found across all proteins, even including plant-based products. Some studies have found that leafy vegetables contain less microplastics than root vegetables, so opt to include them in your recipes.

Avoid buying “TV dinners” and other ready-made meals served in plastic trays and meant to be heated in the microwave or oven. When heating and microwaving your food in plastic containers, the heat causes the release of plastic chemicals, like BPA, from the plastic trays and packaging directly into your food.

But the real culprit when it comes to microplastic ingestion is from drinking from single-use water bottles. There is new evidence that water in single use plastic bottles can contain up to 240,000 nano particles of plastic per bottle. So, for your own health and that of the planet, invest in a (non-plastic) reusable water bottle and say good riddance to single use water bottles!

Go Seasonal!

The United Nations estimates that it takes about 2,000-5,000 liters of water to produce a single person’s daily food. If that’s not disturbing enough, food demand is projected to increase by 50% in the next 25 years, likely requiring exponential increases in water. Considering the fact that more than a quarter of the world’s population does not have access to clean water, the statistics are that much more shocking. 

Common sense tells us that more resources are needed to grow and maintain food in intense conditions, such as droughts or freezes. Instead of searching for strawberries and blueberries in the middle of winter, when they will likely be very expensive and will have been very environmentally intensive to produce and transport, find some fun seasonal recipes online and use what you have readily available. If it’s October, try out some dishes with apples or squash. In the spring, experiment with artichokes and asparagus. 

No matter where in the world you live, Mother Nature provides yummy things 365 days of the year — we should be more appreciative and eat seasonally! 

Why Care? 

You might be thinking “Why should I care?”, or more importantly “Why should I do anything about it?” While these are perfectly valid questions to be asking, the answer is simple: making sustainable choices when it comes to what you eat benefits everyone. 

Shopping responsibly for grocery items ensures that we are not wasting resources, and instead supporting small businesses and farmers, and living in harmony with nature. Eating healthier not only makes you FEEL better and LIVE better, but reduces the harmful effects that packaged and processed foods have on the environment and human health at every step of their production. 

If you feel inspired to join the plastic-free movement and start making positive food changes right this minute, you can start by signing the Global Plastics Treaty and exploring EARTHDAY.ORG’s Foodprints for the Future Campaign

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