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How to Green your Meals

The dailies? You know - milk, bread, eggs - the dailies. These are the things that you find yourself running out each week (or each day) to purchase. Now, you spend a lot of money on these purchases because of their purchasing frequency, so its important that something worth so much money is chosen carefully.

Our top 10 tips for greening your meals

1. The Big O

When you eat organic, don’t just picture the healthy food you are putting in your body, picture the healthy ecosystems which produced that food, the workers who are safer from chemicals, the land, water, and air that is being protected, and the wildlife that is being allowed to thrive. Organic vegetables, fruits, grains, juice, dairy, eggs, and meat (and don’t forget the organic wine and beer), are grown and processed in ways that support healthy people and a healthy planet. (While you may not be able to find or afford organic options for everything you need, certain fruits and vegetables are more pesticidy than others.)

2. Fair fare

Fair trade certified food ensures a proper wage and working conditions for those who harvest and handle it. But fair trade is green for the environment as well. TransFair, the only fair trade certifier in the US, has strong environmental standards built into its certification process that protect watersheds and virgin forests, help prevent erosion, promote natural soil fertility and water conservation, and prohibit GMOs and many synthetic chemicals. TransFair claims that their environmental standards are the most stringent in the industry, second only to USDA organic certification.

3. Go local

Buying seasonal, local food is a boon for the environment for a lot of reasons. Since most food travels many miles to reach your table (1,500 miles, on average), locally sourced food cuts back on the climate-change impacts of transportation. Local food also generally uses less packaging, is fresher and tastier, and comes in more varieties. It also supports small local growers and lets them get more for their produce by not having to spend so much on packing, processing, refrigeration, marketing, and shipping. The best way to track down local food is at farmers markets or through community supported agriculture (CSA), which often offer home delivery.

4. Don’t follow the pack

Instead of buying foods that come in extensive packaging (most of which is petroleum-based plastics) look for unpackaged or minimally packaged foods, experiment with bringing your own containers and buying in bulk, or pick brands that use bio-based plastic packing. And of course try and recycle or reuse any packaging you end up with.

5. Compost the leftovers

Greening your meals isn’t just about the food that winds up on the plate—it’s the entire process, the whole lifecycle shebang. Composting leftovers will ease the burden on the landfill, give you great soil, and keep your kitchen waste basket from smelling. Apartment dwellers and yardless wonders can do it too! And yes, a composting toilet can be part of the miraculous cycle as well. (see our guide for how to compost)

6. Grow your own

In the garden, in the greenhouse, in the window box, or something fancier. Even urbanites can get quite a bit of good eats from not much space.

7. To and from

Just as buying locally grown food cuts on “miles per calorie,” buying from local sellers cuts back on emissions, fuel consumption, and unnecessary traffic.

8. Just enough

Put some extra planning into the amount of food you cook will cut back on waste. If it’s something that will spoil quickly, try to avoid making more than you or your family can eat. If you’ve got extra, make a friend happy with a home cooked surprise. If it’s a bigger affair, give the leftovers to those who may need it more.

9. Raw

Many people swear by the benefits of eating raw. Whatever the health advantages may be, preparing raw food consumes less energy and because raw food is usually fresh by definition, it is more likely to be locally grown.

10. Ease up on the meat

Meat is the most resource-intensive food on the table and eating less of it can be the single most green move a person makes. Producing meat requires huge amounts of water, grain, land, and other inputs including hormones and antibiotics, and leads to pollution of soil, air, and water. A pound of beef requires around 12,000 gallons of water to produce, compared to 60 gallons for a pound of potatoes. If you’re a meat eater, for starters, try cutting out a serving of meat each week. Going vegetarian or vegan is a profoundly meaningful environmental choice, and it’s done wonders for Chris Martin and Prince.

Comments (12) 02.03.2007. 00:59

How to save money when buying organic food

It is true that many organic foods--fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, eggs, and prepacked foods--do cost more. But the one thing to keep in mind is that organic food means higher-quality food; artisan and handmade touches, smaller batches, obsessive attention to the freshest, most delicious ingredients. Organic and gourmet go hand in hand.

organic food guide But since we all like saving money, here are four tips:

Sign up for a free shopper’s-club savings card. Many supermarkets have a bonus card program so they can collect valuable data on consumer habits, helping them stock the stores with items their customers actually buy.
Store brands can save you money. Decades ago, supermarkets created “no-frills brands” that lacked expensive packaging, and passed the savings on to the consumer. These generic items were easily identifiable by their plain, black-and-white packaging. Today, supermarkets have evolved generic into store brands. These are high-quality, gourmet varieties of popular items like soy milk, chocolates, olive oil, canned beans, frozen fruits and vegetables, and much more, often made with organic ingredients at lower prices.
Search the Internet. Many organic food companies offer printable coupons available on their Web sites.
Buy in bulk. Warehouse clubs are beginning to carry a wide variety of eco-friendly household items (recycled paper towels, cleaning supplies) and organic food items; larger quantities up-front, mean bigger savings at the register. Consider buying the essentials you will always need: cold-pressed organic olive-oil, recycled paper toilet tissue, a big bag of organic lemons (if you are planning to make freshly squeezed lemonade for a party, etc.)

Comments (5) 26.11.2006. 02:15