How Healthier Human Foods Are Killing Mammals

October 07, 2008

It feels to me like much of the western world lives in an odd protected bubble these days. Like the climate-controlled skyscrapers we often inhabit, we are disconnected from how our actions can impact other people, and even other species. These often don't hit us until the bubble bursts.

This week, for example, you might have read about the latest Global Mammal Assessment, the most comprehensive look at the state of the world's mammals. As you'd expect, the findings are bleak. One in four mammal species is now being pushed to the brink of extinction.

Shrews, lynx, other wild cats, Tasmanian devils and even rabbits are all facing threats, along with countless other land and marine mammals.

(Credit: Alicia Wirz)

How we conduct our lives, even in ways that we think may be beneficial to us and harmless to others in the short run, are contributing to such problems. An example could be on your pantry shelf at this very moment.

In 2003, the U.S. FDA issued a regulation requiring manufacturers to list trans fatty acids, or trans fat, on the Nutrition Facts panel of foods and some dietary supplements. Trans fats have been linked to possible coronary heart disease and other health problems. Consumers have rightly demanded alternatives to this dangerous type of fat, and companies have responded with one of the cheapest available alternatives, palm oil.

Here's how the domino effect then often goes:

Companies seek out inexpensive sources of palm oil.

Growers frequently target rain forest lands for their crops, since plantations take around 5 years to yield oil.

Growers strip forest lands and sell the resulting timber during the 5-year interim.

Rain forest animals, such as sun bears, Asian elephants, and Sumatran tigers, lose their habitat and begin to die off.

You feel better about buying healthier food products for your family. You may even nosh on a trans fat-free baked good while reading the news that mammals the world over are in danger.

The growers of the palm oil, in turn, may just barely make a living, and might not even be able to afford the healthier products containing their oil.

Too many people. Too much mismanagement. Too little respect for nature and our connection to it.

And the above doesn't even touch upon problems related to coffee, cars and more. Think carefully about your lifestyle and the purchases you make. This is not information that others necessarily want you to know, as it doesn't add to their immediate profits. Force yourself to think outside of the protective bubble that is imagined for us, since it isn't reality and it won't help any of us—humans and non-human animals alike— in the long run.