How Your Food Choices Can Help The Planet
January 13, 2010 by Go Green Tips · Leave a Comment
You don’t have to be a environmental scientist to know that we are having a huge influence on the state of our planet and people are only starting to take action now. Twenty years ago, very few people even thought about where their food, tableware or clothing etc came from. Most just bought what was most convenient at the time. This attitude is not sustainable however, and a shift in thinking is needed especially in these times of weak economy and global warming. Taking some time to think about where you get and how you consume your food can have a surprisingly big impact.
Local Producers. It seems all to easy these days to buy exotic fruit whenever you want it or pick up some foreign spices from the local shop. The fact this produce is sourced thousands of miles away has not long been in people’s consciousness and the impacts are large. Not only does the transport release vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, due to burning fuel and having to use a food and wine cooler to keep the produce chilled all the way, but also local food suppliers struggle to compete with low foreign costs. By doing as much of your shopping in local stores as you can and buying local produce, you will secure your communities future and help save the planet at the same time.
Choose Less Packaging. You only have to take a walk down one of the isles to see how much food packaging is wasted making products look pretty. A single cake might be singly wrapped, inside a little box with a plastic place-holder, which is cloaked in cellophane and transported within a cardboard box, with the other cake boxes. More often than not this packaging is unnecessary, so try and avoid those products that go over the top with it.
Green Accessories. More than just the food you buy can influence the planet when you eat. Everything from the cutlery you use to the little wine gifts you buy others can have an impact and you should think carefully before making a choice. Ask yourself where this product has come from, is it something that could be made from a more sustainable material, and is this a disposable product when I could be buying a reusable one? Disposable chopsticks for example cause thousands of trees to be cut down every day, when a good reusable pair can last a lifetime.
