Eating green is the latest health trend that is both environmentally and economically friendly. Read below to learn the 10 tips on how to eat green and reduce your carbon footprint while not compromising food quality or choices.
1. Eat seasonally: Purchase local produce in season, by doing this you eliminate the environmental damage that goes along with transporting foods far distances and you help support local farmers. Also, it allows you to explore new recipes with seasonal produce.
2. Grow your own food: The only way to completely know that your produce is chemical free and eco friendly is to grow it yourself! Beginners should start with vegetables that are easy to grow and store such as, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and plum tomatoes.
3. Eat fish: Eating fish is good for you but consuming fish is not always good for the environment. Fishes to avoid include Chilean sea bass, swordfish, and ahi tuna. Types of fish to eat include, tilapia, wild salmon, domestic mahi mahi, pacific halibut, pollock, white sea bass and sardines. If you like shellfish, eating oysters, clams, calamari, and American lobsters are all harmless.
4. Avoid red meat: Like fish eating red meat is not always the best choice for the environment. This does not mean you need to give up steaks but instead only buy clean organic meat where the animals have been raised chemical, antibiotic and hormone free. Look for meat that is labeled %100 grass fed/finished to ensure the cattle was raised on a diet of grass.
5. Whole-some- Eat whole foods and avoid anything that comes in a package. In addition to being healthier you also have to account the energy that goes into making the food.
6. Think organically: Organic foods have less energy consuming pesticides and fertilizers then standard produce. The biggest chemical concerns are foods with large surface areas (spinach, kale, leafy greens) and any produce where the skin is consumed (apples,berries,peppers).
7. Labels: Look for the USDA’s certified organic label which is given to products that do not use prohibited chemicals, and are produced in accordance with regulated farming practice. The USDA also issues labels such as “no antibiotics administered” or “raised without hormones”.
8. Dine out: You can eat green and eat out too! The not for profit Green Association will let you know via a sticker in the window which restaurants are trying their best to be green. Log onto www.dinegreen.com to find a restaurant in your area.
9. Say no to bottled water: Avoid using and buying bottled water. When using a plastic bottle you must account for the energy used to make the bottle and the emissions used to transport it. Purchase a reusable plastic bottle and filter your tap for water that is just as good as the bottled kind.
10. Energy efficiency: Since refrigerators keep produce fresh why not invest in a energy efficient appliance. Energy Star models are about 40% more energy efficient than conventional refrigerators and over their lifetime result in enough energy saving to offset the original price.
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