Chisato ShizumeIf you are familiar with ‘Dragon Ball Z,’ one of the best-selling Japanese manga, you may remember the wondrous beans that helped Goku and other fighters restore their strength: the ‘Senzu beans.’ Eating a few grains of them has the power to restore the fighters’ physical and mental strength instantly. Inspired from this story, a Japanese startup called their new energy bar ‘CENZ BAR.’ The company explains the product as the world’s first plant-based, additive-free, nutritionally complete food. Could it be the Senzu beans to improve our diet and save the environment?
Convenient without the cost of health
A well-balanced diet is essential to keep our bodies healthy. Food is the primary source of energy, thus eating several times a day is imperative to a healthy life. And in a developed country like Japan, there are countless restaurants that provide food at a reasonable price, and convenience stores sell a great variety of food 24 hours a day. People have access to plenty of food, and malnutrition seems like a stranger. However, despite such situation, lack of nutrition among young children has been a problem in Japan for many years.
The number of Japanese elementary and junior high school students who skip breakfast on a daily basis are steadily growing each year (8% as of 2018), and about 40% of them say the reason is lack of time. In addition, although traditional Japanese diet is well-balanced and nutritious yet low in calorie, a lot of people’s eating style has become increasingly westernized in recent years, consuming more meat and dairy products than ever before. Consequently, nutritional imbalance is becoming a social issue.
Meat and the impact on climate
And sadly, the imbalance in nutrition is not all the problem changes in eating habits has. Many of us have come to know that meat production has great impact on climate change and environmental destruction, yet there is still a growing demand for meat across the world today.
Eating less animal products can reduce carbon emissions and scale down our negative impact on the environment. According to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Tulane University, replacing half of all animal-based foods in the U.S. diet with plant-based alternatives could reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions 1.6 billion metric tons by 2030. The number shows how the shift in diet in just one country could help fight climate change and restrain carbon emissions. What if the whole world could tackle this issue? There may be great chance that we can save the environment.
The plant-based CENZ BAR
As mentioned above, CENZ BAR is plant-based, using ingredients such as: dates, soybean flour, brown rice germ powder, sesame, walnuts, coconut flakes, soy protein, almond, kale powder, white jelly fungus, moringa powder, brazil nuts, AFA blue-green algae and kelp powder. It contains 13 vitamins, 12 minerals and 18 amino acids, providing all the essential nutrients the body needs. Because they are made from plants, obviously there will be less impact on the environment to produce them.
Convenience is another notable characteristic of the product. Having a CENZ BAR for breakfast won’t require any preparation besides opening the package and it’ll only take a minute or two to eat the energy bar. Presumably, many children can spare a minute from their busy mornings to take one, not to mention grownups. The energy bar contains nutrients the body needs to function correctly and balance your diet with ease. Plant-based food like this energy bar may even give an opportunity for people to think about producing and consuming animal-based foods. Because if they’re as just as good, replacing them with plant-based food shouldn’t be difficult.
As the world population grows, food shortage and the impact of our diet on the environment will become even more severe. Should a shift in diet is necessary, environmental and healthy food which will benefit both the ecosystem and humans like CENZ BAR may increase presence in the days to come.
