To eat or not to eat: 10 of the world's most controversial foods

To eat or not to eat: 10 of the world's most controversial foods · Avocados · Bagged salad · Beef · Cod · Milk · Nut butters and palm oil · Soya. SkiptomaincontentSkiptonavigationAdvertisementNewsOpinionSportCultureLifestyleShowMoreShowMoreNewsWorldnewsUKnewsCoronavirusClimatecrisisEnvironmentScienceGlobaldevelopmentFootballTechBusinessObituariesOpinionTheGuardianviewColumnistsCartoonsOpinionvideosLettersSportFootballCricketRugbyunionTennisCyclingF1GolfUSsportsCultureBooksMusicTV&radioArt&designFilmGamesClassicalStageLifestyleFashionFoodRecipesLove&sexHealth&fitnessHome&gardenWomenMenFamilyTravelMoneyMakeacontributionSubscribeSearchjobsHolidaysDigitalArchiveGuardianPuzzlesappGuardiancontentlicensingsiteTheGuardianappVideoPodcastsPicturesNewslettersToday'spaperInsidetheGuardianTheObserverGuardianWeeklyCrosswordsFacebookTwitterSearchjobsHolidaysDigitalArchiveGuardianPuzzlesappGuardiancontentlicensingsiteEnvironmentClimatecrisisWildlifeEnergyPollutionFoodToeatornottoeat:10oftheworld'smostcontroversialfoodsComposite:Alamy/GettyComposite:Alamy/GettyFrombeeftocodtoavocadostosoya,manyofourbest-lovedfoodsraisebigethicalandenvironmentalquestions.Whatdotheexpertssay?ClareFinneyWed20Nov201912.36GMTLastmodifiedonMon28Sep202012.03BSTDeforestation.Childlabour.Pollution.Watershortages.Themorewelearnabouttheside-effectsoffoodproduction,themoretheactoffeedingourselvesbecomesfraughtwithanxiety.Howcanwebesurethatcertainfoodsare“good”or“bad”forsocietyandtheplanet?AsTimLang,professoroffoodpolicyatCityUniversityofLondonandtheco-authorofSustainableDiets,putsit:“Whenyoucometo‘judge’food,youendupwithanenormouslistofvariables,fromtastetohealthoutcomestobiodiversity.”Herearesomeoftoday’smostcontroversialproducts–andsomethoughtsthatmayhelpyouwhenshopping.AvocadosLet’sstartwithaneasyone...No,sorry:thisbrunchstapleisdeeplyproblematic.Theglobalhungerforavocadosindirectlyfuelsdeforestation,whileinChile,fromwheremanyUKsupermarketsgettheirsupplies,ithasreduceddrought-strickenfarmerstodivertingwaterfromemptyingrivers.Itishardtomakethecaseforavoswhenthenutritionalbenefits(vitaminsEandK,monounsaturatedoils)arereadilyavailableinproductsclosertohome,saystheinvestigativejournalistJoannaBlythman.Butifthethoughtoflifewithoutguacgrievesyou,bepreparedtoforkoutforFairtradeavocados,suchasthosefromtheMexicangrowerscollectivePragor.Baggedsalad“It’sinplastic,it’sthemostthrown-awayfooditem,atthistimeofyearit’sgrownunderLEDlightsintheNetherlands–it’spointless,”isLang’sdamningverdict.About40%ofthebaggedsaladwebuyeveryyearinBritainisthrownout–becauseitisoftenboughtwithoutamealinmind,andbecauseuse-bydatesaresoconservative.Tescointroducedresealablebagsforsaladin2017,buteventhen,there’stheplasticandthecarbonfootprintoftransportationtocontendwith,nottomentiontheensuingdeteriorationofflavour.Comesummer,buywhole,British-grownlettuce;meanwhile,considercabbageorwintergreens.BeefLeavingasidetheslaughterofsentientbeingsforhumanconsumption(ifyoucan),argumentsagainstbeefrevolvearoundgreenhousegases.AccordingtotheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations(FAO),cattle(raisedforbothbeefandmilk)aretheanimalspeciesresponsibleforthemostemissions;yetthisdismalstatistichidesawidevariationinproductionpracticesandthusemissionintensity,astheFAOacknowledges.“There’sabigdifferencebetweenthewaybeefisproducedherethanintheUS,”Blythmansays.“Thereisnoconvincingevidencethatrearingcattleinregenerative,pasture-basedsystemsisbadfortheenvironment;onthecontrary,thesepermanentpasturesactascarbonsinks.”Todigthemupwould“releasethecarbonlockedintothesoil”.TheUKisnotfreeofintensivefarms,but,“generally,ourstandardofbeefproductionishigh”.Buyorganicandgrass-reared,buyinfrequentlyand,ifyou’reeatingoutlookforbeeffromretireddairycows.“Ilovetheflavourand,moretothepoint,theconceptofrespectingtheanimalattheendofitsworkinglife,”saysthechefandsustainabilitypioneerAdamHandling.Isn’titgood...Norwegiancod.Photograph:AlamyStockPhotoCodTheroyalspouseoftheseas,nosooneriscodinfavourthanitisbackoutagain.AccordingtotheMarineConservationSociety(MCS),populationsinUKwatersareindirestraits.ThestatusofNorwegiancod,however,isquitedifferent:Norwaywasthefirstcountryintheworldtointroduceaquotasystemforitscod,anditsfishingcultureisbuiltaroundthequality,sustainabilityandsafetyofthishistoricresource.“It’snotalwaysthemostethicalchoicetouseproducefromclosetohome,andcodisagoodexampleofthis,”saysHandling.“IonlybuycodfromNorway,whereIknowthatmaintainingthestockisencouragedandsupported.”Milk“Milkisrichinnutrients,”saysBlythman,andcheaperthanalternativessuchasoatoralmondmilk.“Weareawetcountry,wheregrassgrowseverywhere–eveninplacesunsuitableforarablecrops.”Howbettertoutilisethislandthantoconvertthatgrassintonutrient-densefood?Butthisargumentonlyholdsifyouaretalkingaboutmilkfromcowsonagrass-baseddiet,asopposedtothoseintensivelyfarmedongrains.Soyouwillhavetopayforhigh-welfare,free-rangemilkineverycuppa.Andthereisnogettingawayfromthefactthatcattlestilldieaspartofmilkproduction,fromunwantedmalecalvesto“retired”dairycows.Nutbuttersandpalmoil“Notthisaswell,”Ihearyoucry,aspoonfulofalmondbutterhalfwaytoyourmouth.Well,it’scomplicated.Thefirstthingtoaskofyournutbutteris:isitpalmoil-free?Palmisoneofthebiggestdriversofglobaldeforestation,andwhiletherearesustainablesources,neitherLangnorBlythmanisconvinced.“It’snotcleartowhatextentcertifiedsustainablepalmoilreducesdeforestation,”saysLang.That’sbeforeyougettothenuts,whichcouldbecausingwatershortages(Californianalmonds),childlabour(Turkishhazelnuts)orhumanrightsabuses(Vietnamesecashewnuts).Asever,governmentsinthesecountriesclaim‘“systemsarebeingputinplace”–butthescaleanddistanceoftheseindustriesmakestraceabilityverydifficult.Buyingnutsclosertohomeisn’tnecessarilylower-carbon,butatleastyouhaveabetterideaofwhathasbeengoingon.BuyinbulkfromsupplierssuchasFood&Forest,whichsupportsmixedfarmingsystemsinSpain,ItalyandtheUK,andmakeyourown,orsticktoclassic(palmoil-free)peanutbutter.Peanutsarenaturallyasustainablecropthatdemandslittlewater,hasnitrogen-fixingpropertiesand,whenplantedinrotationwithothercrops,reducessoilerosion.SoyaTheproportionofsoyaconsumeddirectlybyhumansisrelativelysmall,soitismisleadingtoputdeforestationatthedooroftofuandsoyamilk.Ifyouarevegan,“bad”soyaiseasyenoughtoavoid:tofumadefromUSandEuropeansoyaisincreasinglyavailable,andmostofthesoyausedbyAlproisEuropean.Problemsarisewhenitcomestomeat,fishanddairy,saysLang–whichiswherethevastmajorityoftheworld’ssoyaisused.“Itisalmostimpossibletoknowwhetherwhatyouarebuyinghasbeenfedsoya”–andwhetherithascomefromBrazilandArgentina,wheresoya-farmingfuelsdeforestation.Buyorganic,localandasdirectlyfromthefarmorfisheryasyoucan.ChocolateWithmostbig-brandbarscontainingsoyaandpalmoil,chocolatecarriesethicalbaggagebeforeyouevenconsiderthecocoa.FactorinthatmostcocoacomesfromsmallholdersinCôted’IvoireandGhana,whobeartheburdenofpricefluctuations,andyouarelookingatentrenchedpovertyandalltheconsequences.The2018CocoaBarometer,producedbyaconsortiumofnot-for-profits,reportedthat,onaverage,Côted’Ivoirecocoafarmhouseholdsearnonly37%ofalivingincome.Asaresult,“notasinglecompany…isevenneartheircommitmentsofa70%reductionofchildlabourby2020”,letalonethecompleteeliminationtheyaresupposedlyworkingtowards.Thenthereisdeforestation:morethan90%ofWestAfrica’soriginalforestsaregonethankspartlytothedemandforcheapcocoa.WiththeRainforestAllianceconcentratingonenvironmentalprotectionsandFairtradefocusingonlivingandworkingstandards,itishardtofindabarthatdeliversonbothissues.“Fairtradeisstillnotdeliveringenoughmoneytoprimaryproducers,”saysLang,citinganacademicstudythatreportedthatFairtrade-certifiedcocoafarmersinGhanaearnedonly$36inagrowingseasonmorethannon-certifiedones.OctopusAlthoughethicalwatersarerarelyclear,theyareparticularlymurkywhenitcomestooctopus.Ontheonehand,octopusesarehighlyintelligentandthereiscompellingevidencetosuggesttheyexperiencepain-likefeelings.Ontheother,saysJonAblett,seniorcuratorofmolluscaattheNaturalHistoryMuseum,cephalopodsare“quiteasustainablegroup[ofseacreatures]toeat.Theyonlyliveforonetotwoyears,andwetendtocatchadultsthathavealreadyreproduced.Youjustneedtoavoidthosecaughtthroughdeepseatrawling.”Althoughoctopusescanbeoverfished,theyreproducequickly.“Oneinterestingcommonalitybetweenhumansandoctopusisthattheyfindnewwaystoliveastheirenvironmentchanges,”saysthemarinebiologistDannaSaaf.Ascephalopodsfillthegapleftbytheiroverfishedpredators,sohumansmaycometodependonthemforsurvival.PrawnsThereisanew“seafoodimperialism”abroad,andourappetiteforlargeprawnsisinparttoblame,saysLang.Large–tigerandking–prawnsarefarmedinwarmwatersincountriessuchasThailand,SriLankaandMadagascar,whereproductionisoften“heavilyinvolvedinthedestructionofmangroveswamps”.Takeawayprawnsareparticularlyperilous,saystheMCS,becausetheyaregenerallygiantriverprawns,theproductionofwhichisseriouslydepletingwildstock.Choosesmallcold-waterprawns–bestchoice,saystheMCS–orprawnsfromtheHappyPrawnCo,anethicalcompanythatproduces100%naturalandtraceableblacktigerprawnsfromIndonesia.TopicsFoodFishMeatVegetablesEthicalandgreenlivingfeaturesReusethiscontentMostpopularMostpopularEnvironmentClimatecrisisWildlifeEnergyPollution