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S Unit 2: Saving the planet Listening–writing: Fighting food waste (B2) a) Listen to a speech by Dr Martha Schneider on food waste. b) Listen again and answer the questions below. • • How many people could be fed with the amount of food waste reported by British farmers every year? • • Why are particularly supermarkets to blame in this matter? • • For what reasons are farmers’ products rejected? • • Which campaigns were initiated to make a difference? c) Since you are upset with how much food is wasted at your local supermarket every day, you have decided to write an article for an online journal for teenagers on the topic. In your article you should: describe the reasons for food waste comment on your own opinion on food waste suggest possible ways to promote avoiding food waste Write around 250 words . Reading–speaking: How giving up meat and eating bugs can help save the planet (B2) a) Read the following article about how a different diet could help save the planet. 1 8 2 Edible insects come in all shapes and sizes. Ants that burst with honey as you bite into them. Giant hornet pupae that melt like cream on your tongue. Beetle larvae that leave a smoky taste in your mouth. Humans have relied on a partially insectivorous diet for thousands of years. We evolved as insect-eaters. In many food cultures worldwide, insects are a prized delicacy, and reach higher prices than meat. Yet today’s dominant global food culture does not embrace insects. Disgust is a common reaction. Media coverage tends to reflect this, never quite certain how to tread the line between eagerly urging us to try insect cuisine and squirming at the prospect of a mouthful of bugs. So why is it that right now edible insects are seeing a surge in interest? We are told they might save us from ourselves. We’re living in a world that we’ve destabilised. Sea levels are rising, global temperatures are soaring, biodiversity is declining and inequality is deepening. Edible insects are hoped to be a turning point in this sombre storyline, because of their role in challenging the meat industry. The farming and processing of animal livestock is destroying wild nature and releasing thousands of tonnes of CO 2 into the atmosphere. It’s expanding daily, all to feed a population that is growing in number, in size and in desire for meat. The edible insect industry might provide an environmentally sound alternative. Insect farmers aren’t quite big enough to compete with the meaty conglomerates just yet but they’re trying. Businesses that have started to farm and sell insects as food claim their environmental footprint is relatively negligible, and that lean insect protein is a healthier choice for the consumer. It’s not entirely clear how reliable these claims are. Crickets, the most commonly farmed insects, have a smaller environmental footprint than beef. But when fed with poultry feed and kept alive with the help of an energy-intensive heating system, their environmental footprint may be on a par with chicken. Dennis Oonincx is an entomologist based at the University of Wageningen in Holland – an expert in edible insects and sustainability. He argues all animal production systems “add inefficiency” because they are converting plant matter into animal matter. From an environmental perspective, Oonincx concedes, plant-based food might be the best option. This is because “plants that can be consumed directly are best used as food instead of feed for insects”. Could it be that underneath the hype, edible insects are just another version of meat, mellowed and rebranded for the credulous consumer? If so, perhaps we should forget the critters and just eat more plants. But there’s another angle to the insects-as-food movement, which may be even more important in today’s climate. Insects have traditionally been collected, prepared and sold by people who hold little economic or political power. Can we – as literate and relatively wealthy consumers – contribute to a fairer world by promoting and purchasing edible insects? Finally, there is another political element to insect-eating, beyond finance. Josh Evans spent three years travelling the world eating insects as lead 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 126 Semester self-checks Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv