For my contribution to the (un)sustainable meal, I brought in watermelon. According to my research, watermelon is not one of the most sustainable foods. Even though it is a plant and can be organically grown, watermelon requires a TON of input. First of all, it needs a great deal of water and sunshine. Having to constantly water a plant makes it less sustainable because it needs a lot of attention. It also is a plant that needs alot of space to grown and often will kill other plants, which would make it a bad candidate for farms with many types of plants grown together. In terms of food miles, the watermelon I purchased from Publix was grown in Mexico, which means it had a very long trip from the patch to our sustainable dinner. The carbon footprint required just to transport this melon makes it very unsustainable. In addition, for all the work needed to grown them, watermelon are very nutrient poor.
When comparing it to the classroom definition of sustainability, I would say that overall, watermelon is not a very sustainable product. The best way in my opinion to evaluate two products for their "eco-friendliness" is to determine what inputs they need, their food miles traveled, whether or not they are fairly grown and traded, and their nutrient level.
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