Food Behavior Challenge Portfolio (Essay Sample)

center8500085496401000000 Food Behavior Challenge PortfolioStudent’s NameInstitutional Affiliation
Food Behavior Challenge Portfolio
Undertaking food challenges helps change and implement increased steady convictions that shape up people’s dietary plans. These include keeping a record of differences in food consumption and listing them on a worksheet that helps execute the food challenge tasks every day. Food is one of the most essential components that support the body in life, and these foods come from an environment that has its system. Food systems begin from growing on the farm and people harvest it when it's ready for consumption. People may consume it unprocessed while others take farm produce to food industries for processing and packaging. Transportation to the supermarkets for easy access is done and then people obtain it for cooking and disposal as related to the purpose. Production and consumption of food have impacts on the environment through disposal methods for the waste, therefore, these calls for the development of a healthy and sustainable food system and food waste strategy.
The daily food consumption source is the kitchen where the food is prepared, the meals consist of breakfast that contains carbohydrates like noodles. According to Ridoutt et al. (5), the southwest Asian culture has a background of their main source of food being grains for lunch and supper which are most likely to be rice. The main components of lunch and supper are vegetables and meat in the main dish. Consumption of vegetables every day may be expensive and not convenient for storage as thought by many though methods like refrigeration are better for preserving them. I consume more vegetables than meat daily to gain a healthy lifestyle routine for a sustainable food system. I find animal food very unfriendly to the environment due to the heavy waste they produce such as production emissions from the greenhouses. Livestock production causes around 18% of greenhouse emissions in the world (2) and these leads to climate changes, therefore consumption of vegetables and reduction of meat consumption is a better method that leads to an improved food system and healthy behavior.
Food packaging is a threat to the environment (7) and it should be considered as an act that needs waste food disposal policies to improve the effects of pollution and environmental degradation. The meat industry has been contributing a large number of climate changes and therefore, reduction of consumption for such foods is advisable for a significant pro-environmental behavior. Pollution increases continuous risks (7) leading to an increase in demand for food, this causes serious environmental damage and it’s now time for the planet to change and practice better food systems that relieve the environment from degradation through a reduction in consumption of packaged foods such as meat. Land and water are two factors that are interconnected to the environment and therefore food waste disposal systems that reduce negative effects on the environment are encouraged through increased consumption of vegetables and reduction in processed food such as meat and livestock products.
Behavior change implementations are very important in somewhat more effective measures of promoting healthy diet consumption than a reduction in unhealthy eating habits. Education levels and general knowledge are vital elements that help develop models that best suits the implementation procedure for a healthy food system (6). A better food system for the future will be a better way of understanding the merits and disadvantages of meat consumption and packed food meals. The influence on how healthy behaviors are implemented by influences from family and people around for example, when surrounded by individuals who consume more vegetables, there is a likelihood of implementing better healthy behaviors for the future, unlike when surrounded by heavily packed food consumers. Setting up a determination model for absorbing more farm-based food and less animal product food is deemed necessary to achieve a positively changed healthy system with better healthy behavior thus reducing the negative impacts on the environment in waste food disposal.
The national food waste management strategy implementations aim at halving waste food in the near future (5). These strategies are composed of different efforts for example in Australia, there is AgriFutures Australia, the grocery council, the Deakin university strategy, and the CRISO Australian food that is contributing to implementing the waste food management for a better environment in the future. The implementation strategy is supported by over 1.37 million investments in Australia (5). The steps followed in implementing these are; independent organizations setting and developing a program framework for priorities and actions, voluntary commitments program that engages industries and food packers to handle waste food. And finally, the national food waste management monitors food waste reduction goals. Development of new market and new food products helps in the creation of employment for the youth, spending less on household food bills reduce waste and disposal fees and these finally help reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions to the environment as healthy food eating behaviors change for a better health system not only for an individual but for the whole.
According to the study by the National health and medical research council(NHMRC) in Australia (1), eating ultra-processed and junk foods increases health risks such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Junk foods are high in energy, high sugars, high salt, high fat, and low in a nutrient, according to Australian dietary guidelines. This outlining the perfect food choice for Australian people from their culture. Processed foods do not include in the farm-made groups of food, because they did not reach the nutrition requirement for people, but it gives enjoyment when eating them. It is unnecessary to purchase discretionary food and no need for our body's nutrient intake. However, the situation of people taking more junk food in Australia was getting serious. About one-third of Australians’ energy was from discretionary foods. This was the highest for teenagers aged 14–18, at 41% (2). Children are the future of the country, the highest range falls into the teenagers' group was showing how important we need to stop consuming junk food. Levels of physical activity across the population groups were generally low, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was high, reaching 81% for males aged 51–70 (1) and (2). Successfully adopting and implementation of the healthy food system has changed the eating behavior for the young and the situation was beneficial.
In conclusion, people can change their food behaviors to healthier habits by setting up goals and work hard towards achieving them in a determined procedure. Maintaining a good health system and healthy eating habits is important where absorption of higher plant-based foods are key daily routines and reduction in meat-based food that aims at upgrading the environmental safety from pollution and degradation. Healthy eating behavior is not only helpful to an individual’s lifestyle and health but also serves as a disease control measure for long-lasting environmental health that is free from greenhouse gas emissions and the use of less energy in food processing and packing. Finally, lack of knowledge concerning food systems and waste food disposal can lead to higher health risks and worsened environmental safety thus call for an opportunity for people to associate with national food waste implementation strategies to build a good future food chain system that contributes to better health lives.
References
1 National health and medical research council(NHMRC). Eat for health. Canberra:NHMRC;2013.P.8[cited 2020 Apr 3] Available from:https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/food-nutrition/nutrition-across-the-lifestages/contents/summary.
2 The Australian institute of health and welfare(AIWH). Nutrition Across the life stages. Canberra:AIHW:2018.[cited 2020 Apr 4]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/food-nutrition/nutrition-across-the-lifestages/contents/summary.
3 Gonzalez AL D, Frostell BJ, Kanyama AN C, Protein efficiency per unit energy and per unit greenhouse gas emissions: Potential contribution of diet choices to climate change mitigation. Food policy.2011 OCT:35(5):562-570.doi:doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2011.07.003.
4 Herok M, Boks C, Household food waste:Drivers and potential intervention points for design-An extensive review, Journal of cleaner production[internet]2017 Mar[cited 2020 Apr 2];151380-392. Available from:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.03.069.
5 Ridoutt BG, Juliano P, Sanguansri P, Sellahewa J. The water footprint of food waste: case study of fresh mango in Australia. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2010 Nov 1;18(16-17):1714-21.
6 Adriaanse MA, Vinkers CD, De Ridder DT, Hox JJ, De Wit JB. Do implementation intentions help to eat a healthy diet? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical evidence. Appetite. 2011 Feb 1;56(1):183-93.
7 Loh W, Tang ML. The epidemiology of food allergy in the global context. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2018 Sep;15(9):2043.
Food behavior 1
Day

Explain what happened with your behavior change

Notes and thoughts about why

Monday

Last night I prepared my meal beforehand because I was extremely excited to start this challenge, it has been a while that I have thought of...