When I walk into a grocery store I try to avoid the middle aisles. These tend to be filled with the packaged foods, and I try to only buy the basic goods (like pasta, rice, etc.) from these aisles, with most of the other food that I eat being vegetables and fruits that don't have packaging. I try to eat local as much as possible, and often go to the local farmers markets. I am a vegetarian, and I also rarely eat soy because of the deforestation it causes and the mono cropping that is going on. Because of the factory farms I only buy organic and range fed milk and cage free eggs, both for animal rights reasons and for environmental reasons. I do not want to support people who keep their animals in horrific conditions and I am willing to pay extra or not buy milk if there is no good alternative.
Packaging is a problem since it is mainly plastic, which is not biodegradable and most packaging cannot be recycled so it builds up in landfills. I try to only buy things packaged in paper, since is biodegradable,although it is not always possible. I also don't want the plastic to leach anything into my food, since many have been shown to do that if it sits on the shelf and we don't know all the health repercussions. To avoid using more plastic at the store I bring my own reusable bag, which is great because it holds way more stuff and is better for the environment, making it a win-win situation!
I am not very good when I go out to eat though, since I have no idea where the food comes from, how it was produced and how it got there. Though I only eat out a few times a month it is my guilty pleasure, where I don't worry about it because there are few alternatives, though the Chinese place I order from is organic, as is the pizza place I like.
I believe that the food I ate in the last few days that had the biggest environmental effect was the rice that I ate yesterday since it was imported and rice production produces a lot of methane, which is a greenhouse gas. The footprint of that rice because of the transportation and the plastic bag it came in, one of the few things I buy that comes in plastic.
1 comment:
WOW! I find it amazing how carefully you choose your food. If only everyone could afford to choose that way, I believe that the environmental impact caused by our food would be much lower. I wish there was a local market at home, as I think it would be healthier and eventually preferred by most over the processed foods. The only problems is that the "local" farmers know they would not return much of a profit in the short run by setting up anywhere near me. No one could afford the extra costs. Not very many people would be familiar with the foods or how to prepare them. Also, many people would go to the processed foods as it's what they've grown up with. I would be very interested to know if you grew up this way. You know how to choose with care and the reasons for choosing differently, whereas many people from home believe it's just for pretentious people to be so picky, as they grew up with the mentality of eating what they can. I, by no means agree with them, and I think it's wonderful how some are so conscious about choosing their food. I will strive to do it myself. I just wish it was as easy for everyone to make such conscious decisions about their food.
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