A study published in the medical journal JAMA has shown that children and adolescents ages 2-19 get most of their calories from ultra-processed foods.

Two-thirds, 67% of calories consumed by this age group in 2018 came from foods like frozen pizza, microwave meals, chips, and sweets. This is a 6% increase from 1999.

This widespread reliance on junk food is an increasing public health concern as the obesity rate has been rising steadily among U.S. youths for the past two decades.

If You Think Kids Are Eating Mostly Junk Food, A New Study Finds You’re Right

Researchers analyzed the diets of 33,795 people. The authors of the study point out one reason this is particularly concerning is due to the fact that adolescents are at a critical age for developing dietary habits that carry into adulthood.

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In this time period that the consumption of processed foods increased the consumption of unprocessed foods decreased to 23.5%.

Ready-to-eat meals increased in consumption from 2.2% to 11.2%, the greatest increase. Packaged sweets increased from 10.6% of calories to 12.9% of calorie consumption.

While the growth in consumption of highly processed foods was higher for black, non-Hispanic youth, researchers found education level or income level didn’t affect consumption of ultra-processed foods.

On a positive note, the consumption of sugary beverages dropped from 10.8% of overall calories to 5.3% of overall calories. Researchers suggest this could be due to efforts to educate about the effects of sugary drinks on your health.

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Food prices have risen globally for the last 12 months in a row making a 40% increase over the last year.

In April food prices rose 4.8%, the largest increase month-to-month in more than a decade.

The demand for meat, cooking oil, and more is rising all over the world.

High demand for corn in China and a drought in Brazil are both factors causing the surge in food prices.

Cooking oil especially has been subjected to market pressure. Palm oil supplies are at their lowest level in four years, due partly to labor shortages related to the pandemic. And soybean oil prices have risen almost 70% this year, reaching an all-time high last week, due in large part to a renewed demand for soy oil in biofuels.

Food Inflation Spikes Globally

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Many are aware of the problems with the herbicide Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round-up. It’s the most commonly used herbicide in the world today and has been known to cause cancers, fertility problems, and many other health problems not just in humans, but in other wildlife.

Producing glyphosate can cause just as much environmental damage as spraying it can. One of the main ingredients is phosphorus, produced by extracting it from the mineral phosphate ore, mined Florida and Idaho. Florida is called the “phosphate capital of the world”. Around 80% of the mineral is mined in Florida.

The chemical treatment used to create phosphoric acid creates large amounts of phosphogypsum, a radioactive waste product.

It may ultimately be impossible to determine whether the finished product or sourcing the material caused more damage to human health and the environment. What is certain is the financial gain enjoyed by the agrochemical industry. The global fertilizer market was worth $83.5 billion in 2020¹⁷ and estimated to grow 1.69% from 2020 to 2027. This means the industry may be worth more than $93.9 billion by 2027.

Radioactive Waste Is a Damaging Agrochemical Byproduct

To avoid glyphosate try to shop organic whole produce as much as possible. Better yet, grow as much of your own food as you can!

Tucson’s mayor Regina Romero has committed to planting a million trees by 2030. In February Romero joined the U.S chapter of the 1.t.org Stakeholder Council, a group of leaders committed to the restoration of one trillion trees around the world. The U.S chapter has committed to a billion trees.

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Romero plans to prioritize tree planting in lower-income communities that are often disproportionately affected by Tucson’s urban heat island effect. This is largely due to a lack of green space.

Rainwater will be the primary fuel for the million trees initiative. When Romero entered office, she and her council approved a green stormwater infrastructure fee, which charges the average residential water-user $1 per month. Over the next three years, the fee will generate up to $7 million for sustainable stormwater harvesting in parks, streets, and parking lots, according to Romero.

Planting a Million Trees in the Semi-Arid Desert to Combat Climate Change

Planting trees is linked to better air, lower temperatures, and increased biodiversity.

Researchers asked 600 Finnish citizens what they would be willing to pay to ensure your food was coming from farms that promote biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

Results from the survey showed that an overwhelming 79% of participants would be willing to pay more for food that was sustainably farmed. The majority of participants reported they would be willing to pay a monthly sum of 16 Euros, or 228 Euros a year. This amounts to 245 Euros per hectare of Finnish farmland a year.

Currently, citizens pay 160 Euros a year in annual government subsidies for each hectare of organic farmland in Finland.

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Of the 21% who said they would not pay more for diversified cropping, half of those said they were unable to afford the added cost.

Ultimately, a system that relies on consumers to pay for more sustainable agriculture shouldn’t impoverish people, or create a hierarchy where only those who can afford it get good quality food. 

A lot of people may be willing to loosen their purse strings to subsidize greener farming

Monocrop farming is becoming more common practice in Finland and all around the world. Monocrop farming can lead to a decline in soil quality and biodiversity as well as causing other problems. Diverse cropping on the other hand, can increase carbon sequestration in the soil, boost biodiversity, introduce new pollinators into the environment, and promote an increase in food production.

Doctors are seeing a surge in eating disorders across the country as people try to cope with the stress and anxiety induced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jennifer Wildes, an associate psychiatry professor and director of outpatient eating disorders program at the University of Chicago Medicine says she’s “absolutely seeing massive increases”.

Patients are waiting four to five months for treatment when the wait for treatment prior to the pandemic was usually only a few weeks. Wildes’ program is treating about 100 patients currently, nearly double from before the pandemic.

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Other programs are experiencing a similar problem. Jillian Lampert with The Emily Program has reported that her daily calls have nearly doubled since 2019.

The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, which started offering virtual therapist-led support groups for adults during the pandemic, has also seen a surge. Since January more than 7,000 people from every state and 32 countries have attended their support groups, said alliance CEO Johanna Kandel.

Pandemic Has Fueled Eating Disorder Surge in Teens, Adults

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Doctors are seeing an increase in cases across the board, meaning all races and ages. Eating disorders are more common among women than men. Stress and anxiety are common catalysts for eating disorders. Many people have experienced more stress and anxiety in the last year.

The company Tassal has plans to build an 80 hectare salmon farm with 28 large ocean cages filled with hundreds of thousands of salmon, along the coast of Tasmania.

Many along the coast are concerned about the environmental implications of salmon farming and expanding out into untouched waters. Along Macquarie harbor 21,000 tons of fish feed has ended up in the water in the past year alone, creating massive amounts of waste.

In 2015 80,000 salmon suffocated to death after a sudden drop in oxygen. The fish are often seen in distress not wanting to eat and seeking out more oxygen. Despite problems of overcrowding, the government increased the number of fish in the harbor. All this came after another smaller salmon company wrote a letter to the government stating that Tassal has totally disregarded environmental and fish health.

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Finding healthy sustainable fish can be difficult and expensive. Fish is often contaminated with mercury, microplastics, and other toxins. For this reason, we don’t recommend making fish a big staple in your diet.

ABC News released a video on salmon farming and the environmental concerns with it, which you can watch below.