Nuts are fantastically nutritious, delicious, and the perfect addition to any meal or snack. In particular, activated nuts provide astonishing results in your bodies digestion and energy levels. Unfortunately, not all nuts are good for our planet. Here I will give you a quick run down of the worst nuts to eat if you’re considering the planet. Starting with the most environmentally friendly nuts, to the least sustainable.

Keep in mind this is a general guide, and it strongly depends on exactly from where you get your nuts. So, try and support your local nut farmers.

Hazelnuts

Hazel nuts are fantastic as a source of vitamins A and B along with a decent boost of dietary fibre. They are also a prime example of sustainable farming. They require minimal water, hardly any upkeep, and can survive in infertile soils. Due to these factors, they are drought resistant and their deep roots help avoid soil erosion. Their enormous size also makes them great at sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and improving the soil health.

Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts have been a staple nutritional boost to people of the Amazon for thousands of years. They are packed with protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. The trees on which brazil nuts grow on, are also one of the tallest trees in the Amazon Canopy. Each tree towers into the sky and has several football sized fruits which each contain 24 seeds.

Brazil Nut trees grow in the Amazon, they grow slowly and continue to produce nuts for hundreds of years. They are also pollinated by a few specific insects which depend on a healthy biodiversity in the surroundings to live. This means Brazil Nuts cannot be cultivated, and to keep the trees producing, the industry needs to preserve the wild rainforest and all its inhabitants.

Peanuts

Peanuts are a great filler for any snack food and are packed with healthy fats and vitamins. Peanut plants create their own fertiliser through nitrogen fixation minimising the need of chemicals. Nonorganic peanuts, however, tend to have some fungicides on them. They require significantly less water than other nuts and tend to be cheaper, and easier to grow.

Pecans

Pecans are native to North America and have been a staple in Native Americans diet due to their nutritious value and widespread through central and southern United States. Pecans are considered one of the more environmentally friendly nuts. They have shallow root systems and depend moist climates or significant irrigation. Farmers of pecans tend to combine wild and improved pecan varieties, however the demand for wild crops are slowly decreasing.

Pistachios

While these beloved little nuts have the environmental benefits of having deep root systems which minimises the need for irrigation, the shells can be burned to create energy from waste, and the hull can be used for animal feed. They also require slightly less water than almonds, at around 3 litres of water per nut.

Cashew

Have you heard of the term ‘blood cashews’? This is that the Human Rights Watch report in 2011 which wrote about drug addicts in labour camps forced to process cashews. Most people also do not know how cashew nuts are grown. Cashews grow on low trees and are attached to red or yellow fruits which contain cardol and anacardic acid. These two acids can cause burns and lesions in workers who shell them by hand.

Walnuts

Did you know that eating walnuts can help lower your risk of heart attack by as much as 51%? They are excellent sources of healthy fats, vitamin E, and help maintain heart health. Unfortunately they are one of the most unsustainable nuts you can purchase, as it takes 18 litres of water to grow 1 walnut!

Almonds

While almonds, almond milk, and almond products are skyrocketing in demand, the little nut itself is one of the most problematic for the environment. Current approximations show that 4 litres of water are required to produce just 1 almond. Majority of the worlds almonds, currently at 2 billion nuts, are produced in California which is suffering from increasingly frequent and severe droughts.

Conclusion

Next time you are in the shops checking out the nut section, take a second to consider the environmental as well as humanitarian impacts of these nuts. Try purchase local nuts and consider the amount of water required for these nutritious treats. Maybe try and stay clear of the worst nuts to eat