The November 18, 2020 online program of the Sierra Club York River Group featured the Chesapeake Bay, and in particular highlighted an excellent exposition on how our own diets impact its ecosystem.

The program started with a short video (with Randie Trestrail a contributing videographer) describing a traveling exhibit at the Waterman’s Museum in Yorktown VA.  Titled “Bay to Belly,” the exhibit opens December 5, 2020, and runs through December 23.  Sarah Linden-Brooks, a history faculty member at TNCC, helps develop interpretive programs such as this one, which focuses on the watermen of our region.  The exhibit describes their history, their past and present challenges, and how their lives and livelihood are linked to the health of the Bay’s ecosystem.

Dr. Ben Cuker, professor of Marine and Environmental Studies at Hampton University since 1988, then talked in detail about his book titled “Diet for a Sustainable Ecosystem.”  The Chesapeake Bay is highly affected by our current food system, which is ultimately driven by the choices of what we eat.

One of the biggest impacts we can have on the health of the Chesapeake Bay at an individual level is to switch away from an animal-based diet to a vegan, vegetarian, or even flexitarian diet.  The animal-based industrial food industry, especially involving meat (cows, pigs, chicken) is not only bad for us (causing many health issues like coronary heart disease), but it also has a harmful impact on the environment through land over-use, carbon emissions, and excessive use of fertilizers, chemicals, and antibiotics.  Not to mention mistreatment in factory farms and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) of the animals themselves.  But that’s another story…

Want to be healthier, live longer, and help the environment?  It’s all about the food you eat.  Switch to a plant-based diet.  The Chesapeake Bay - and the earth’s environment in general - will thank you.