Are you looking to eat healthier and make sure your food is eco-friendly?
You're in luck! Here are ten tips that will help you with both things while providing insight into how you can be more environmentally friendly when making and eating food overall!
Shop Locally & In Season
Shopping at your local farmers market is a great way to support your community while stocking up on fresh produce. You'll find food grown nearby, meaning it has minimal transportation costs, which is better for the environment.
Plus, you can pick up some fresh fruit from the stand next door. Produce in season is likely fresher because less time is spent travelling from farm to store or market shelf.
Know What Foods Have the Highest Carbon Footprints
Knowing what foods have the highest carbon footprint is essential before making any food decisions. These foods have an enormous environmental impact because of how they're grown, harvested, processed, shipped, stored, and cooked.
Green beans are one of the foods with the lowest carbon footprint on this list. They're frozen fresh, keeping them in their natural state with little processing. They also don't require refrigeration until they've been cooked, so there's no need to use energy while transporting them around to keep them cold.
Plus, green beans are really easy to cook, so there's no need for complicated heating equipment like an oven or stovetop that would require energy to operate.
Some foods, like bananas, have a higher carbon footprint than others. This is because most bananas are shipped from far away. Bananas don't have a long shelf life, so they must be refrigerated in warehouses where large amounts of energy are used. Many people eat just half of a banana, so many throw away their leftover bananas, which can also add unnecessary waste into landfills.
If you want to purchase only a portion of bananas at a time, you should buy one or two bananas at a time instead so they'll last longer, and you won't need as much space in your refrigerator.
Cut Down on Waste
The first thing you can do is reduce food waste. When you're at the grocery store, try not to buy more than you think you'll be able to eat before it goes bad. This will save money and reduce food waste.
Try eating smaller portions or cooking in bulk so there are leftovers for lunch or dinner. Once you've cooked your meal, store the food in reusable containers instead of plastic bags or wraps. Reusable containers are better because they help keep your food fresher longer while reducing your reliance on disposable plastic products.
Choose Sustainable Seafood
Sustainable seafood is a big topic these days. With so many different types of fish, it can be hard to know which ones are sustainable. Luckily, there are resources available that can help you identify which fish are the most environmentally friendly.
You can also easily find sustainable seafood at your local grocery store or restaurants serving seafood. You might have to pay a little more for some types of fish, but it's worth it in the long run as they're not contributing to overfishing or harming other marine life.
Consider a Plant-based Diet
Eating a plant-based diet is one of the easiest ways to make food more eco-friendly. For starters, meat production is notoriously resource-intensive in terms of energy consumption, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and land use. One gallon of gasoline produces about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the same amount you would get from eating approximately 10 pounds of beef.
Additionally, livestock farming requires about 50 percent more land than crops like corn or soybeans. If you have been considering switching to a plant-based diet but are intimidated by its complexity or price, don't worry!
Use Reusable Containers
Reusable containers are a great way to make your food eco-friendly. They are good for the environment and save you money. They can be a little more expensive than disposable counterparts, but in the long run, it's worth it since you're reducing your carbon footprint and saving money on plastic products.
Reusable containers can also be used for gardening or storing household items.
Bring Your Own Bag
Plastic bags are a huge environmental concern. They pollute the air, water, and soil. They are made from non-renewable resources that take hundreds of years to degrade. And they never fully break down, so they will always be there in some form. One of the easiest things you can do is start bringing your bag when you grocery shop, but remember to pack it out when you're done!
So what should you bring? Bring a reusable grocery bag, or find one near your store. It doesn't have to be something fancy like a canvas--a bag made from recycled plastic works just as well for most people's needs. That way, you know that your environment will benefit from your choice whenever you go shopping instead of suffering.
Compost
Composting is a great way to create nutrient-rich soil for your garden, but it takes time, space, and effort. The more food scraps you have, the faster the process will be.
Start small by composting at home and plan to have a designated area for composting when you start on a larger scale.
Grow Your Own Food
To eat eco-friendly, start by growing your own food. If you have the space, a garden is a beautiful way to produce fruit and vegetables. If not, start with herbs on your windowsill or in pots on your balcony.
Planting some of these plants will provide the best return for very little investment: tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, parsley, and coriander. Gardening is also suitable for kids as it's a great activity they can be involved in as they develop their skills; this could even help them learn how to take care of themselves.
Educate Others
Educating others about eco-friendly food is a great way to give back to the earth. Find your niche, whether vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or meat-eater.
Once you've found your niche, talk to other people who eat like you do and encourage them to make changes in their diets, too. Every little bit helps make the world a healthier place.
