Our Food System is Rigged feat. Sheril Kirshenbaum | Hot Mess

The answer is pretty simple on paper: To help fight climate change, we need to convert more of our diet to plant-based foods and away from red meat. But in practice? It is REALLY hard to do, because the global food system is so huge, so wasteful, and so unequal, that in some ways it’s rigged against healthy eating. We didn’t make this video in order to sound hopeless, though. We just want everyone to have an honest look at how hard a problem this is to solve.

Agriculture is such a massive topic. I work as a chemical engineer on biogas projects, and one of the byproducts is digestate (it's a compost slurry essentially). A lot of people on the energy side of biogas see digestate as pain to deal with. And I did too, until someone told me that soil is alive. At first I was like, yea, sure there are some bacteria in soil but whatever. But then I read up on the fungal ecology of soil. It's mind blowing. Soil actually breathes, and if managed correctly carbon-depleted soils can sequester about one tonne of CO2 per acre per year. And one way to improve the ecology of soil, is to add on compost on top for microorganisms and fungi to break down. So now, I work in energy but think a lot about soil because both the low-carbon intensity biogas and the carbon sequestering power of soil are both important aspects of my job, which is to reduce GHG emissions. An education in ecology has made me a better engineer.

Sometimes you go to the shop and it's cheaper to buy processed unhealthy foods than healthy ingredients, that's a big part of the problem

I'm glad this channel doesn't pretend that this is easy to have people eat better when "good food" is MUCH more expensive than "bad food".

Wow... 50% of what USA grows is thrown away. Thats just crazy!

End subsidies on meat and start subsidizing veggies.

My partner and I live in Mexico City, and we loved to eat meat until we realized how harmful it is to the environment and also to our health. The transition was gradual and something very useful for us is that we found very tasty alternatives to substitute dairy and red meat, for example, almond and oat milk, veggie patties, veggan mozzarella-like cheese, and so on, even we still go to our favorite steakhouse restaurant, but now we choose the grilled salmon and it is simply delicious!. Since we changed our way of eating, our close relatives also began to change, now my mom cooks much less red meat during the week and began to include more vegetables in the everyday meals. You said that it is very hard to convert our diet habits worldwide, and you're right, but where I can find hope is in the power of every individual and the impact of that person in others. If more and more people get aware of this problem and find a way to change, slowly but gradually we will make a difference.

9:37 Well, that would be a great reason to introduce an UBI and a Greenhouse Tax. A society should take responsibility over the behavior it guides people to.

Many people I know rely on food pantry food donation places, where they get whatever is offered to supplement their lack of funds

2:18 compare poultry, pork, and dairy to beef, lamb, goat.

We need to also make it so labelling showing we’re are food has travel is more clear. In the EU it is and so helpful buying more local is important as the shipping has a carbon footprint.

Bunch of scientists chilling at the UN😂😂

Allergies are another issue, my partner would love to eat beans and lentils but she along with many of her family members are allergic.

Medical bills get awfully expensive! Ever see the cost for insulin? Something to think about when making choices about what to eat, it certainly helped me!

I think the thing that changed my eating habits the most was looking at how much I was spending per meal. When I started looking, back in the mid-90s, I was spending about $5 per meal (about $8 today, I think). I missed some of the meals my mom would make for me; meatloaf, tuna casserole, pot roast, etc. I got the recipes, bought the ingredients, and gave it a shot! It was so welcome, and then I saw how much it cost. Some of the meals were 1/5th the cost and took just a bit longer than going through a drive through (relative time. time spent actually tending the cooking or prep). 25 years later, I don't miss fast food that much. I treat myself to an 'indulgent meal' monthly or when I'm on the road. Other than that, the sale items at the grocery store dictate my diet for the most part. BTW, F**K McDonalds!!!! The dumbest, most boring, and most expensive meals on the planet, relative to what you get! If you pay $7 for breakfast, it should be 2 eggs sausage, pancakes, and orange juice. Go to Denny's. If you want a REAL burger, check out the locals. They're not all inept!

Thank you for that video. I got the feeling that just so many people around me, aren't aware of the impact of there diet, even though they are super well educated. They simply dont get it or dont want to get, that they have to think about those impacts. I just dont know what to do for them to understand the problem. I wish they were watching such videos too...

Can we dwell a little bit on the title of the graph from 3:37: "The beef availability"? I wonder what is actual discrepancy between beef consumed, vs. beef supplied. How much of that meat is thrown away? Just go to your supermarket and check the expiry date on shelves loaded with meet. How much of do you think is actually sold, before it goes bad?

Fantastic presentation. One of the most important issues of our time

I just shared this on my Facebook page because I care, thanks for sharing this information...

Here in the UK plenty fried chicken shops. You can get a good size box (10 to 12 pieces) for £3. They’re always crowded and mostly open until 2am