For this week's eye-opener I took a "Score your diet" quiz which calculates how nutritious, environmentally friendly, and considerate to animals my current diet is. This quiz asked a series of questions about how many servings per week I eat of beef, chicken, eggs, and other animal products as well as fruits, veggies and whole grains. There were more detailed questions as well, asking whether the fruit and veggies are organic, whether the dairy products are fat free, and whether eggs and chicken are free-range, just to name a few. The quiz then gives your diet a score in three categories: Health Score, Environmental Score, and Animal Welfare Score.
Although my overall score on this quiz was 46 which is classified as "good", my results for the environmental and animal welfare scores apparently need help. I was surprised by this, because I'm not a very big meat eater and I've recently cut back on other animal products like dairy, yet according to this quiz I desperately need to help the animals more (my score was -13). I also make an effort to buy local fruits and vegetables to minimize my environmental impact. I even buy bread that's made locally (but my score here was -26)! I feel bad for scoring so low in both of these categories and I'd like to learn more about how I can change this for the better. I don't really want to become a vegetarian but I will do my best to buy free-range animal products and to eat grass fed beef whenever possible.
On the bright side, according to this quiz my diet is a very healthy one. I was happy to read that part because I try my best to eat well most of the time and I was hoping this quiz would reflect that.
Before taking this quiz I thought I had a pretty environmentally friendly and animal friendly diet. I was really surprised to learn that, according to this quiz, my regular diet is actually really harmful to the environment and to the welfare of animals! This quiz opened my eyes to the fact that I could probably do with making a few more changes to my food choices. I would recommend taking this quiz just to see how good your diet is and to become aware of areas that need improvement.
These quizzes surprised alot of us I think. In my opinion they are not ment to scare us or make us make significant lifestyle changes, however they are exactly what we call them "eye openers" and we need to start taking small steps regarding our results.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you put in a good effort to eat healthy but also to lessen the environmental impact. It always surprises me that when I think I'm doing enough to be environmentally friendly, I'm really not.
ReplyDeleteI think that this quiz was good but, like we discussed in class, could have taken other points into consideration such as where we get our food (locally, etc.). It was a good eye-opener though of how production of this food impacts a lot of different elements of the planet.
ReplyDeleteI think that this quiz was a good eye opener, but also might grade a little too harshly. If you are eating a healthy diet, and consuming locally then I think that is the best you can do right now.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the quiz seems a bit tough on us, but it is supposed to be an "eye opener." Someone pointed out in class that the site was biased towards a vegetarian lifestyle. It is interesting though that you eat a pretty animal friendly diet. Keeping a balance is the key.
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