Healthier eating helps create a healthier Earth
With the celebration of Earth Day coming up, we can take this opportunity to consider how to be more eco-friendly and better protect the environment.
In fact, our food choices have the potential to make a positive impact on not just our own health, but on the health of the planet. Food that is healthy and sustainable is good for us and good for the Earth.
The typical American diet, high in calories, processed foods and animal protein, has a major impact on the environment. Ecoconscious eating practices can help reduce our environmental footprint.
For example, the research of the World Resources Institute demonstrates that eating less meat and more plants can help cut carbon emissions.
Here are some different lifestyle choices to consider implementing this Earth Day for a healthier body and environment:
Reduce waste
A staggering 30-to-40 percent of the United States food supply goes to waste and nearly half of it is household food that end up in landfills.
Although most people are aware of the issues of food waste, we fall short with impactful solutions. Individuals and families can make a difference by making choices that reduce waste at home. Plan meals ahead of time and grocery shop for only what you will need and use. Prepare perishable foods soon after buying. Store foods properly to prevent them from spoiling too soon. These are just a few strategies to reduce your own food waste.
Considering the mounting issue of food waste, some innovative companies are creating unique solutions to combat the challenge of food waste in business and on farms.Zero Percentmakes it easy for the food service industry to donate surplus foods.Imperfect Produceis a produce home delivery service that sells fruits and vegetables that don’t meet grocery stores’ cosmetic standards and are totally fine to eat, but would otherwise be thrown out.
Food production
Although we may think of car and industrial emissions as the
main threat to our environment, agriculture is also a significant contributor to greenhouse gases, especially from livestock production.
Many scientists and advocates for sustainable food systems believe that a more diversified farm landscape would produce a healthier blend of crops and livestock.
Eating less meat and processed foods and more fruits and vegetables would not only improve our nutrition and health, but would lead to a more sustainable food supply.
Shop local
Opting to buy food that is grown and produced close to home has numerous benefits.
Local food is not just fresher than food that travels across the globe or the country to get to your kitchen, but when you buy locally produced food you are supporting your local community’s economy.
Plus, food grown nearby has traveled fewer miles, therefore producing less air pollution. Food that is shipped a shorter distance has less of a chance to become contaminated or lose nutritional value.
Eating locally means shopping at your neighborhood farmers’ market or community supported agriculture and buying what’s in season.
Composting and recycling
Composting is nature’s way of recycling organic materials into soil. Food scraps from fruits, vegetables and even coffee grounds can be composted.
There are different ways to do composting including both indoor and outdoor methods so it may take some research to determine what’s best for you. Farmers and gardeners use the compost byproduct to improve the quality of their soil. Composting is a sustainable gardening practice that can easily be learned and implemented.
We are all well-aware of recycling, but simply taking your blue bin out to the curb every week may not be enough. You can go towww. recycle by city. com to take a recycling quiz and access a local city guide on recyclable items.
Whether it’s shopping locally, composting, grocery shopping with a meal plan, or going meatless on Mondays, consider what you and your family can do this Earth Day to align your eating habits with the goal for a healthier planet for future generations.