Abstract:

Globally, food systems–what we eat, where and how we grow it– play a major role in determining our impact on the environment.  In this talk we will focus on two areas where food and the environment are closely connected: environmental antimicrobial resistance and the carbon footprint of foods.  

The livestock industry is responsible for the majority of our antibiotic use, and proliferation of antimicrobial resistance is a global threat to public health.  In partnership with Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, a non-profit that assists communities experiencing negative impacts due to industrialized livestock production, our lab has compared methods for assessing antimicrobial resistance in waters downstream of livestock facilities.  We have observed dramatically elevated multidrug resistance in livestock-impacted waters.

By considering our food choices, we can find “low hanging fruit” for reducing our “foodprint.” In fact, diet shifts hold great potential for helping us mitigate climate change!  In addition, food system changes can help us address a suite of environmental challenges including biodiversity loss, nutrient pollution, and land use change. We will discuss the carbon footprints of various foods as well as strategies for mitigating climate change through dietary shifts.