In honour of Earth Day 2018

Through precept, lecture and example, I will assist and encourage others to strengthen their health, reduce risks for disease and preserve the health of our planet for ourselves, our families and future generations.

When we think back to our time at CCNM, we should truly marvel at our accomplishments.  Surviving the lightning speed at which personal growth and change occurred (in combination with the challenging curriculum) is something I feel really deserves some sort of national recognition!  And yet in the blur, there are moments that stand out for each of us as game changing.  One of those moments for me was back in classroom five in July 2009.  It was remarkably hot and muggy in the school during the summer months.  That day in first year Art and Practice, a man named Wayne Roberts came in and changed my entire life in two hours.  He had spent his career lobbying for change in Toronto’s food and environmental policy scene.  Having worked in agriculture as a researcher and project coordinator, I was already fascinated by the connections between the food system, the environment and health care.  He spoke of the tremendous and far reaching impacts of our food choices and of the power of consumer driven change to reshape the economy and in the process save the world from ourselves. His message had me hooked from his first word.

Fast forward nearly 10 years from that summer day and my clinical practice has evolved to be almost entirely based on transition to a sustainable diet and the required behaviour change.  While tremendously successful in its outcomes, attempting to support significant and lasting changes in human behaviour patterns as a career is not for the faint of heart.  It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks, but it is often a long and sometimes painful process.  We are creatures of stubborn survival and overcoming the biological drive to stay in our comfort zone is a steep mountain to climb.  But like anything else, with the right tools and motivation,  I am continually amazed at what we are capable of.

As NDs, we all know the power of proper nutrition.  Initially, I would almost always work on some variation of a grain-free, dairy-free diet with well-balanced healthy fats, good protein, lots of veggies. You know the drill – meat, veggies, healthy fats, not too much fruit, eggs are good for you, meatless Monday etc. Its relatively easy to follow and with good support, creates measurable positive health outcomes.  Certainly it was not rocket science I was engaging in, but outcomes felt miraculous at times non-the-less.  Patients were generally pleased with themselves after a few weeks – it is a diet that is not a huge jump out of their comfort zone.  People lose weight, get off their meds, feel better and start living their lives again.  And they can still have steak and bacon the odd time.  Its a win-win as they say.

As I continuously launched into these paleo style diets with my patients, there was a whisper of discontent that lingered.   I found it harder and harder to ignore as the facts kept mounting – and I couldn’t get Wayne Roberts’ message of the tremendous impact of our food choices out of my head.  At home, I am the mom of two growing humans.  I’m a passionate advocate for environmental protection, and have always been an obsessive recycler, gardener, composter, car pooler and supporter of local food.  I demand short showers, turning off the tap off when we brush our teeth and shopping second hand.   And yet each year the statistics on the growing global environmental crisis continue to keep me up at night.  The whisper gradually overtook me and I knew I had to listen. I started at home and hit the books and soon began to implement my new guide lines in practice.

As a community dedicated to improving the health and lives of those in our care, the question we must know ask ourselves is this: what good is a healthy individual on a dying planet? 

 
Our Food Choices – Impacting Public Health, Climate Change and The Global Environmental Crisis. 

 
Our dedication to individualized health cares paramount to our oaths a naturopathic doctors.  But we pledge to be stewards of Mother Earth as well.   I encourage each of you who consider yourselves to be environmental advocates and who make food recommendations in your practice to begin to seriously investigate the impact the food choices you recommend.  Specifically the impact of livestock production on land use, declining biodiversity, water usage, greenhouse gas  emissions, deforestation and ocean dead zones.   The sheer volume of animals raised for food, along with the land, grain and water needed for their production is the second largest contributor to the current environmental crisis we are globally facing today behind fossil fuels.  And it is entirely consumer driven. To get your started, I have included the major FAO reports and their links below.  But in the interest of persuasion, here are some facts to digest.

The per capital  consumption of meat in North America averages about  9 ounces (around half a pound) per day and the vast majority of this is chicken.  Estimates for the environmental cost of poultry consumption are difficult, however it has been calculated that for each half pound of beef produced, it requires an average of 150 sqft of land and  400 litres of water (for grazing and growing feed).  While red meat consumption continues on a down trend, it is still estimated that over 50% of US land usage and between 50% – 80% (depending on the source) of water consumption can be directly attributed to livestock and livestock feed production each year.