Top Three Ingredients in a Cheese Sandwich
A cheese sandwich refers to a sandwich made with cheese on bread, commonly known as a ‘toastie.’ The essential ingredients for making this sandwich include melted cheese filling, toasted bread, and vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots. All these ingredients can be acquired from reputable vendors, such as a bakery for bread, a supermarket for cheese filling, and a grocery store for vegetables.
Sources and Origins of the Ingredients
The origin of the bread is wheat flour that is baked using a mixture of items such as yeast and cooking salt, among others. Cheese is a dairy product made from milk from cows, sheep, or goats. To produce cheese, milk is added to a coagulant that helps it solidify from its liquid state.
These ingredients are sourced from different locations. Bread can be acquired in a bakery, where it is produced by combining the required ingredients for the bread and a culinary mixture to achieve the desired product. Wheat is harvested on farms and sold to retailers, who then sell it to consumers, just like oil and yeast. Cheese is collected after blending is complete and sold to vendors for retail. The vegetables used to make this sandwich are sourced from farmers as fresh produce through the supply chain.
Environmental Impacts of Ingredient Production and Transportation
Each of these ingredients has environmental impacts. For example, producing approximately 2 ounces of cheese generates 16 ounces of carbon dioxide, a gas associated with increased convulsions and breathing problems in animals (Gibney, 2021). Bread emits greenhouse gases that contribute to the breakdown of the ozone layer, ultimately leading to climate change (Afkar et al., 2020). The long shipping of vegetables results in the emission of greenhouse gases, which negatively impact the environment (Rahman et al., 2019).
Global Consequences of Widespread Ingredient Consumption
If everyone used cheese sandwiches, the planet might have little impact. However, the outcome would contribute to the adverse effects of environmental unsustainability, which in turn alter the well-being of animals and plants. For example, the massive production of greenhouse gases through procedural means to obtain the final product leads to climatic changes that alter rainfall patterns or risk the lifespan of human beings and other animals (Afkar et al., 2020). Therefore, this leads to the endangerment of both human life and the environment as a whole.
References
Afkar, H., Kianifar, A., & Zamani, H. (2020). Investigation of the effect of variable heat flux on energy consumption and bread quality in the flatbread baking process by experimental and numerical methods. Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 3(5), 1–16. Web.
Gibney, E. (2021). The effects of consuming melted cheese and grass-fed cheese on markers of Metabolic Health. 3(8), 23–42. Web.
Rahman, M. A., Rahman, I. M., & Hasegawa, H. (2019). Effects of cooking on dietary exposure to arsenic from rice and vegetables: Human health risks. Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, 3(6), 248–255. Web.