Health:
Obesity levels have rapidly increased over the years. In Canada over 6 million people between 20 to 64 years old are overweight and 2.8 million are obese. All together this group represents 47% of the Canadian adult population. The amount of children that are in the same position is even more alarming. In 1998/99 the overweight and obesity rates between children ages 2 to 11 years old were 37% and 18%, compared to the adults which was 35% and 15%. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (2003), "the increasing number of overweight and obese Canadians now poses one of the greatest threats ever to public health in this country". Obesity are caused by energy imbalance. One the main reasons for this cause is diet, as unnecessary calorie intake leads to weight gain.
Soil degradation:
There are six main types of soil degradation (classified by the Chinese Academy of Science) are erosion, desertification, salinization, pollution, deterioration of soil properties and non-agricultural uses. Causes that lead to the reduction of soil quality may be due to material loss, mechanical disturbance, and environmental pollution. Soil degradation is certainly happening in Canada although Canada has a quite small population Canada should not put up with irresponsible soil degradation. Maybe in many people’s mind soil is an unlimited resource which is true to a certain amount. Somethings are beyond our control, such as climate and geology of the land, but it is our place to figure out what will work with those elements to produce the most favourable outcomes for both the environment and us.
Different types of soil degradation that decrease soil quality are outlined in Table 1.
Different types of soil degradation that decrease soil quality are outlined in Table 1.