Connecting to nature through food

How does food connect us to nature? The most obvious response to this question is because, simply put, most of the food we (should) eat comes directly from the natural world. Fruit bearing trees, vegetables, legumes and grains are all rooted in soil. If you eat animals, those animals will have consumed plants from the earth too. But before I start to sound like I’m teaching two year olds what vegetables are, the connection to nature through food goes a lot deeper than just how the food chain works. It’s far more complex than just these simple facts. 

We can connect to nature through food by eating how nature intended, by making conscious food choices and by practising mindful eating. I explore these ideas in more detail below. I’ve also included a list of ways we can reconnect with nature through food at the bottom of this post.

How can we connect to nature through our food choices?

1) By eating foods that we’re naturally meant to eat

When we consume natural foods, they are broken down by our guts so that we can absorb the nutrients they contain. This nourishes us, helping our bodies function normally, keeping us healthy. It is a basic fact of life that we rely directly on nature to survive.

By eating foods that we’re naturally meant to eat, we achieve adequate nourishment. The body needs 30 different vitamins and minerals (mostly from plants) and 9 different essential amino acids (from protein) as well as 3 essential fatty acids (Omega 3s). In order to have sufficient intake of all of these essential nutrients we need to eat a well balanced diet that is ideally made up of mostly or solely, whole plant foods, as recommended by a vast number of professionals in the field of nutrition.

A study by the Eat-Lancet Commission in 2019 brought together 37 experts from 16 countries. After analysing data from several studies on nutrition and health and taking into account country-based differences in terms of the availability of various foods, the recommended diet is one that is composed predominantly of whole-plant foods. This diet was named the ‘Planetary Health Plate’ and emphasises the importance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Animal products make up less than 15% of daily calories and there is acceptance that a healthy diet does not need to contain any animal-derived foods at all.

Another 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association concluded that diets made up of mostly plants and low in animal products result in a lower risk of Cardiovascular disease – the number one cause of death in middle-aged and eldery adults. 

These are just two examples of a multitude of studies out there that support the idea that a wholefoods plant based diet that is low in highly processed foods and animal products is the healthiest, most natural diet for humans. 

Nature provides us with everything we need to thrive. We were never supposed to eat white bread, white granulated sugar or Twinkies (Which contain a whopping 37 ingredients, most of which are manufactured in a lab). We were never designed to eat 12 oz steaks or factory farmed chicken. It is our disconnect from nature that has led us down a path of unhealthy, unnatural eating habits.

2) By making conscious food choices

There is more to this than eating as nature intends. It’s also about giving back to nature in return. 

In Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, he writes; ‘Imagine if we had a food system that actually produced wholesome food. Imagine if it produced that food in a way that restored the land.’ 

Unfortunately the majority of our food comes from farms that degrade the land rather than resore it. Knowing where our food comes from is really important. A lot of us are so disconnected from nature that we don’t realise how our food is farmed. Most of us simply stroll into the supermarket and pick up ready prepared foods from the shelves. We don’t have to venture out into a forest to forage for berries or hunt anymore like our ancestors did. Everything is done for us by the food industry. This disconnect allows us to unknowingly fund destructive farming practises. The good thing is, the curtains are being drawn and we’re getting a lot more transparency from companies, which makes knowing where our food comes from a lot easier.

I’ve written before about choosing organic whenever possible. Organic farming is far better for the environment and produces food with a denser nutritional profile. Read more about why buying organic is so important here.

Another really great way to have more control over the quality of the food that you eat in terms of how it’s farmed, is to grow it yourself. Not everyone has the luxury of a garden, but sometimes all you need is a balcony or a windowsill. When you grow your own food you can choose not to use chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Instead you can choose to use compost and work with nature for pest control – Ladybirds are fantastic aphid police!

When we make conscious food choices we are actively making the decision to buy (or grow) better quality food that comes from farms that don’t destroy the environment but rather, restore it. The food we eat should never destroy the source in which it came. 

3) By practising mindful eating 

Simply put, mindful eating is a practise where you remove distractions and focus on the experience of eating food. 

As I wrote in a recent post; 15 ways to reconnect with nature, ‘Next time you sit down to eat, make a conscious effort to sit at the table and enjoy your food slowly. Turn off any distractions such as the TV or the radio. Quiet music can be fine. Pay attention to how everything tastes, how it smells, how it makes you feel emotionally and physically.

Whilst you enjoy all the sensations involved in eating a delicious meal, think about where your food has come from. Picture the vegetables growing in the sunshine. Imagine the energy of the sun transferring from the food into your body. Imagine the vitamins and minerals passing from the food into your bloodstream. Mindful eating helps you form a deeper connection with the food you are eating, thus deepening your connection to the earth in which it came. It can really make you appreciate food in a whole new way.’

Mindful eating allows us to form an almost spiritual connection to food. It allows us to express a true feeling of gratitude for the food on our plate. And if we cook the food ourselves it makes the mindful eating experience even more special. 

Cooking is a very human thing. It shouldn’t feel like a chore. Instead it should bring you closer to your human nature and to the others you’re sharing the food with. Learning to use fire and cook food enabled us to evolve into the incredible beings we are today. Cooking should not be considered evidence of our self removal from the natural world. Instead, it is evidence of our creativity as a species to use nature in new ways. Through cooking we were able to enjoy additional nutrients from our food.

The ashes from fires used to cook food can be also be used as fertiliser for the land, as can scraps of vegetables and leftovers. This is how we give back after taking what we need, and only what we need. Mindful eating is a truly beautiful way to appreciate the earth for all that it provides us with. When we eat mindfully we can forget about our troubles, sit down with family and friends and enjoy food properly, together.  

There are so many beautiful ways that we can connect to nature through food

Below I have included a list of ways we can reconnect with nature through food. Take note of how many of these things you already do. Then pick three additional things to start doing today. Lets enjoy food again, naturally.

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I hope you found this useful and inspiring. Thanks for stopping by!

Have a beautiful day.

~ Faine

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