Foods With the Largest Environmental Impact

[Duppers]

[NJCher]

1. Dark chocolate

Last edited Sat Oct 28, 2023, 01:23 PM - Edit history (1)

A report just came out about lead and heavy metals in chocolate.

I’m no longer consuming chocolate for that reason.

I gave up rice, too. (Lead)

on edit: here is the link to the story about lead in chocolate.

[Old Crank]

6. Lead pollution

In those 2 are from contaminated ground because of factory and piwerpkant emissions. I would wager that there are large amounts of food stuff grown down wind of places like that that are lead tainted.

[enid602]

2. Cheese

My diet compares well with this list, but I do love my cheese. I can’t imagine life without it.

[BWdem4life]

9. Like without cheese is not worth living.

Someday aliens will come from all across the universe to sample Earth's fine cheeses... with the exception of American cheese, of course.

[Permanut]

3. Thanks for the info, Duppers..

I love dark chocolate, but happy to give it up for the cause.

[Warpy]

4. The worst thing I eat is chocolate

Oh well. I think coffee is foul stuff (along with milk), so I guess that makes up for that sin.

I eat the more sustainable fish like pollock, I can get 3 meals out of a chicken breast, my diet is high carb, low protein, low fat, low sodium, low potassium (renal diet, been on it for 50+ years) and I don't make the rules for anybody else.

I freely admit to being a chocoholic, a committed theobromian who hides it, eats it alone, and lies about the quantity.

I can quit any time. Sure I can. I, um, just don't want to right now.

Yeah, that's it.

[moniss]

5. The chocolate is the

main vice I have. But I resist any guilt about it by adopting the philosophy of the Puritans which basically said anything is OK unless it feels good against your skin.

[jfz9580m]

10. lol-fellow chocoholic huh?

Same here..but it is both coffee and chocolate for me. Lately I have found some vegan Indian sweets that are great. The lady who makes them has become a friend and she is concerned about these issues. Therefore, so it lies lightly on my conscience..It has helped me make the final step towards veganism.

I eat a fairly healthy and what I hope is a relatively ecologically responsible diet. But my sweet tooth is not dying any time soon.

I count my sugar grams daily and try to keep it to 25 g. Obviously most days it is well over that, but I might get there in a few months. I find that if I stick to my vegan sweet treats I can keep it to 25g. But sugar sneaks into my diet in other ways if I am not watchful.Mostly when I switch my usual cold black coffee for hot coffee..I find I can stand unsweetened, black coffee when it is cold but not hot. Modern life..shrug..I cut down where I can :-/.

I freely admit to being a chocoholic, a committed theobromian who hides it, eats it alone, and lies about the quantity.

I can quit any time. Sure I can. I, um, just don't want to right now.

Yeah, that's it.

[Old Crank]

7. I wonder if land use change

Is factored into other foods as mentioned in dark chocolate. Also milk chocolate comes from the same farms and uses milk.

[Duppers]

11. Exactly. And I do not know why...

They made any distinction between chocolates.

[NJCher]

13. milk chocolate is more ok than dark

I'll see if I can find the article and post it.

[sl8]

15. This one?

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/consumer-reports-finds-more-lead-cadmium-chocolate-urges-change-hershey-2023-10-25/#:~

Consumer Reports finds more lead and cadmium in chocolate, urges change at Hershey
By Jonathan Stempel
October 25, 2023 5:49 PM EDT Updated 3 days ago

[NJCher]

17. Posted upthread

Yes same research, different news source.

Thanks for posting it.

[sl8]

18. Thanks. nt

[Duppers]

16. Thanks!

Last edited Sun Oct 29, 2023, 05:58 PM - Edit history (1)

Dark chocolate certainly has more concentration of chocolate.

[littlemissmartypants]

14. Milk vs. Dark vs. Semi-sweet vs. Bitter-sweet chocolate?

Milk chocolate is unique in that it contains a significant quantity milk, either in the powdered, liquid, or condensed form.

Dark chocolate is a category of chocolate that includes semisweet and bittersweet chocolate. The US FDA actually does classify dark chocolate as anything containing 35% or more cacao (liquor or butter). In practice, semisweet chocolate is typically much sweeter, and contains about 50% sugar. Bittersweet chocolate, on the other hand, typically contains about 33% sugar. Some dark chocolates may contain small amounts of milk, but not enough to be called milk chocolate.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_chocolate

I would have to die if I couldn't get chocolate. I have it almost every day in some form or another. Mostly as cocoa powder (unsweetened) in a blended drink.

There's also some evidence that it's a pain killer.

Chocolate and Chronic Pain
THOMAS COHN, MD
New research presented at the Experimental Biology 2018 annual meeting found that chocolate may have some benefits for chronic pain sufferers.

According to the findings, dark chocolate (minimally 70% cacao, 30% organic cane sugar) can positively affect some factors that contribute to or that make chronic pain worse. Researchers say that dark chocolate has been associated with:

●Decreased stress levels
●Decreased inflammation
●Improved mood
●Improved memory
●Increased bacterial immunity

“For years, we have looked at the influence of dark chocolate on neurological functions from the standpoint of sugar content – the more sugar, the happier we are,” said principal investigation Lee S. Berk, DrPH. “This is the first time that we have looked at the impact of large amounts of cacao in doses as small as a regular-sized chocolate bar in humans over short or long periods of time, and are encouraged by the findings. These studies show us that the higher the concentration of cacao, the more positive the impact on cognition, memory, mood, immunity and other beneficial effects.”
https://mnphysicalmedicine.com/2018/04/30/chocolate-and-chronic-pain/

Short video on the health benefits
https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/PQT9zFJW

More...
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270272#risks_and_precautions-

❤️pants

[PortTack]

8. Interesting...familiar with some of it...always good to have more detailed info

[hunter]

12. The beef / nuts water comparison is misleading.

Beef can be raised where there are no shortages of water. Nuts such as almonds and pistachios are grown in more arid environments, similar to those in which they were originally domesticated.

Dairy and beef feedlot operations in arid environments are very water intensive. The crops used to feed the cattle (alfalfa, etc.) require more water than nuts, and worse, intense dairy and beef production contaminates what water there is.

The filthy beef and dairy industry wants you to imagine happy cows grazing on green hillsides. That's not the reality for most of the beef or dairy products at the market. Of course the industry would rather you not drink almond milk. But almonds do have the smaller environmental footprint, especially if the meat or dairy products you consume are sourced from high intensity meat and dairy operations in arid places.