What Do Teens Think is Healthy Food?

KneeDeep student reporting fellow Sachi Bansal interviewed three seniors at Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, California about how they define healthy food, and what they think of the new food pyramid.

Recently the federal government began encouraging Americans to eat more dairy products and red meat, and flipped the food pyramid. Science suggests, however, that meat produces far more greenhouse gases than plant crops do (a pound of beef produces around 15 times as much CO2 as a pound of rice—and around 60 times as much as a pound of wheat, corn or peas). 

To combat the health and safety risks of climate change, experts interviewed by MIT’s climate education project suggest favoring plant-based foods that are in season, eating whole grain, so as not to waste the nutrient-rich part of the grain, reducing food waste and composting organic material. These simple changes will cut down on the resources used to grow the food you eat, and the distance it has to be shipped before it reaches your plate. 

Interviews & Filming: Sachi Bansal
Video Production: Jocelyn Duffy
Community reporting funded by the CO2 Foundation.