we are living in a rapidly growing and changing world and human well-being has greatly improved in recent decades. there are about three billion people getting wealthier and by 2050 they will be entering the global middle class. our challenge will be meeting the needs of these people all the while trying not to destroy the environment that supports life around us. we are intricately connected to that environment. beyond the resources that a provides nature is absolutely amazingly cool.living organisms in the ecosystem in which they reside are complex intricate and beautiful. simply put our world is amazing to be a part of.

A big way we interact with the environment is through the food we eat and how we grow it. food production is a huge cause environmental change and habitat destruction. agriculture which is farms and pastures take up the most amount of land on Earth. croplands alone can take up as much land as the continent of South America wild pastures for grazing animals take up as much land as the continent of Africa. on average it takes around 2,300 square meters of land to grow food for just one American. That's the equivalent of 5 NBA basketball courts. in recent years 5-10 million hectaresof land have been cleared for food. most of this land came from diverse tropical rainforest. not every diet takes up the same amount of land. Giants differ but on average it takes 3 basketball courts to feed a person. and that's 40% less than the typical American diet. reproduction requires more land than vegetables food and grains. in fact meat production requires 3/4 of all agricultural land and this is because of the space need to grow animal feed. animal feed also needs a lot of water. it can take up to 1,800 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef. That's as much water as 90 showers. around the world people are making more money to buy things like food clothes and shelter and as long as people make more money they buy more meat which takes more land to produce. if everyone wanted to eat like Americans do we would need twice the land we have to grow crops on. and where would that land come from?individual diet choices like choosing between a hamburger or a veggie burger or even a chicken sandwich can have a big impact on the environment. however, over one in 14 Americans have little or no access to fresh or affordable food that is needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. let alone the ability to make choices that are better for the environment. these areas are known as food deserts. food deserts are defined as Urban neighborhoods or rural towns without ready access to fresh healthy and affordable foods. these communities may only be served by fast food restaurants or convenience stores that offer few affordable options. lack of access contributes to a poor diet and higher levels of obesity as well as other diet related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

but lack of food isn't just a problem.sometimes we have too much food and one third of that goes to waste. That's 20 lb of food per person every month. she also takes a significant environmental toll. up to 1/3 of us cropland and 1/5 of the u.s. freshwater goes to raise that uneaten food. these are all large problems. fortunately we live in a time in history with the opportunity and the technology to really change the fate of our planet. by making smart decisions we can put the environment in a more stable path.the actions we take today can greatly improve our future but if we don't take any action then we may find ourselves with massive environmental problems.

 later on it's not adults that have to bear this burden and recognize this opportunity it's us. we're inspired to think differently and together we can change the world that we can do this we can find a solution to the problems of today.