The Healthiest Food is the Greenest

As documented in National Geographic a few months ago, many U.S. stores will soon begin using an Overall Nutritional Quality Index developed by Yale University to score foods from 1 to 100 based on nutrients, vitamins, sugar, salt, as well as impact on blood pressure and other health concerns.

Check out some of the top foods:

Broccoli, blueberries, orange, green beans, mustard greens, strawberries, and spinach all have a score of 100!

Pineapple and radish have a 99. Summer squash has a 98.

Apple, green cabbage, and tomato have a score of 96.

The top twenty on the list is almost entirely made up of vegetables and fruits.

Only salmon, snapper, and Tilapia crack the bottom of the top twenty rankings of 80-100. All other meats fall between the 20-40 score ranking-- quite poor. This shows that not only are the most nutritious foods the greenest, but they're also the most humane.

The production of meat produces more pollution than any other cause contributing to global warming via methane emissions from waste and CO2 from transport, contributing to water pollution via run off of waste and hormones, among other forms of environmental destruction.

Go for the greenest. It's better for you, better for the Earth, and better for the animals we share the planet with.

To see more rankings: http://www.griffinhealth.org/Research/ONQIpages/Rankings.aspx

To see National Geographic's Green Guide: http://www.thegreenguide.com/

Related News: UN Says Eat Less Meat to Curb Global Warming

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that people should reduce their meat consumption. His comments are the most controversial advice yet provided by the panel on how individuals can help tackle global warming. Pachauri said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems - including habitat destruction - associated with rearing cattle and other animals. The UN has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.