This is not another blog about obesity and its impact on your health - I'm giving you guys a break for a bit on that one. But just to refresh your mind...
This is about how what you put in your mouth impacts the planet. (Fringe benefit: Much of the advice saves money and is good for you as well.) Some of these things I go overboard with, yes even causing embarrassment to my friends, when it comes to leftovers for instance (guys, feel free to share your best Flavia leftover stories in the comment thread) and others I don't do as well -- for instance I am not a vegetarian and don't always buy local and often don't ask if the coffee I buy is from a farm that practices sustainable agriculture (not that hard, right? Just look for the Rain Forest Alliance certification or Fair Trade or Bird Friendly and you're good) and composting - well I will be lucky if I get to that in the next ten years.
We are a consumer nation, we have no competition world wide on that score. Unless you are my buddy Ed Begley, who on a bet fit his trash for the week in the glove compartment of his small car, you produce about 4½ pounds of trash every day -- that adds up to about 500 billion pounds the good old U.S.A throws out every year. We have so much trash we have to ship a lot of it overseas, and if you look at North America from space, the highest point on the east is a landfill!
Last week there were countless stories on how outrageous it was that Naples, Italy had trash in the streets and the environmental impact of that -- we just hide ours a little better. Here are a few things you can do to help:
Eating meat is very detrimental to the environment on many levels, so if you are a vegetarian, thank you! If you are like me and can't quite give up meat, let me propose a middle ground -- actually my friend Sebastian Copeland did. Eat at least one meat-free meal every other day -- that will eliminate 487 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere every year!
Eat local food as much as you can -- you save all the gas it takes to ship the food -- if you did it even once a week it would save 5,000 pounds of CO2 every year. The average thing at your local grocery store travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles to get to you; if you bought local you would save about 95% of the gas. I am lucky that I have a great Farmer's market near my place -- look for one near yours.
Always try to buy things not in packaging since a) you will have to throw the packaging away and b) it takes energy to pack it. So block cheese instead of individually wrapped, bread from the bakery instead of the variety on the shelf, or look for the ones that are not twice wrapped. Fresh fruit and fish instead of canned, and always try to buy in bulk -- if you are going to use it. That is another key point, don't get bigger eyes than your tummy -- that motto holds true for adults, we throw away tons of food every week. If you could save the amount of food wasted in your house by just 25 grams a day, according to the Green Book, about the weight of a slice of bread, that would add up to 20 pounds a year -- enough to make 16 meals! So if everyone did that it would be enough food to provide 3 meals a day for a whole year to each of the 1.35 million children in the U.S. who are homeless. Think about it.
And when you check out at the grocery store though neither option is great, paper is better than plastic--I use mine for trash bags after.
When dining out it gets tricky on the local front and I must admit I almost never ask, but make sure to clean your plate or eat it later. I am proud to say that never, and yes I am using never, have I walked out of a restraunt without taking what is left on my plate, including often times the bread basket. In cities where I know that I will pass a homeless person on my route home -- when my meal is brought to me before I eat I divide what I think will be too much for me to finish and have them bag it and add a napkin and silverware to the bag. Also try to encourage the restraunt to participate in a food donation program.
Bon Apetit, Citizen Hunters!
Moms, Dads, and kids you can do tons at your school cafeteria to help save the planet. Some younger Citizen Hunters did a great job at mobilizing their schools to get rid of unhealthful foods; now I would like to call you to action to reduce waste as well. More to come in the Work At Home Moms Section!
Comments (6)
Great food for thought. Thanks Flavia
Posted by: Julie on January 30, 2008 14:02
Thanks for giving the local Farmer's Markets their say! Not only do they have fresh, local food, they can have an astounding variety of products: the one near my house can have everything from wine, to beeswax candles, to buffalo meat!
Posted by: Kelsey on January 31, 2008 01:17
"When dining out...have them bag it and add a napkin and silverware to the bag"
Assume you aren't eating at LeBec Fin,Striped Bass or even Outback? I'm sure the homeless appreciate having silverware and cloth napkins.
Good advice for Boston Market or KFC.
Posted by: Jim on January 31, 2008 13:17
You must be super fancy as I can't recall a place I went to that did not have paper napkins and plastic silverware to go. Though sharing it out loud with my girlfriend she remarked that I had bought some utencils in a CVS for such purpose on the way back from the Palm--can't remember if I did that because they didn't have any or I forgot. Remind me to get you to take me to dinner:)
Posted by: Flavia Colgan on January 31, 2008 16:41
I wish.
Hey, I think it is a super idea for the homeless, one that should be encouraged, never dawned on me. Next time I eat downtown I certainly will ask, but will bring plastic and paper just in case :)
Posted by: on February 1, 2008 10:48
Hey, next time you are eating at the Palm with your girlfriend invite me. I'll even pay......wait a minute i paid the last time.
Posted by: Steve on February 3, 2008 08:30