“Learning to understand water means protecting life”
The earth’s water balance is out of joint. Extreme weather conditions lead to droughts in some instances and to flooding in others. Water itself is not to blame for this situation, rather it is an expression of outer conditions for which human beings are responsible. Jasmin Peschke, head of nutrition at the Goetheanum, points this out on the occasion of World Food Day 2023.
According to Jasmin Paschke, “we cannot afford to wait for the great global resolution of the water problem but must tackle the causes now.” The nutritional scientist is convinced that conscious food choices can make a real difference.
The power does not lie with corporations alone, but also with the individual consumer. “If I choose organically or biodynamically grown food, I contribute to an environment where the groundwater is not polluted with excessive nitrate or pesticides. In addition, I support the management of a soil that can absorb and store water because it has built up humus and is covered with vegetation throughout the year,” says the nutrition expert. As a result, the quality of food production is also ensured, in which water plays an important part.
Jasmin Peschke admonishes people that “improving the water situation is something that concerns all of us.” Not only are there more than 2.4 billion people who live with water shortage or contaminated water, but in recent decades the freshwater resources per person around the world have gone down by twenty percent. Lack of water disrupts the physiological processes in living organisms, affecting for instance the transport of nutrients and breakdown products, temperature regulation and the basic supply of cells and tissues.
“Water itself is no hazard; it adapts to different conditions. Learning to understand water means protecting and facilitating life,” says Jasmin Peschke on the occasion of World Food Day 2023 which this year has the motto ‘Water is life. Water is food’.
English by Margot M. Saar
Web Nutrition Department / Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum
Cover image Water: Gorge Chälengraben, Hofstetten, Switzerland (Photo: Sebastian Jüngel)