Food makes up a large part of our everyday lives, whether it’s dropping by the shops on the way home from work, searching for new recipes online or preparing a home cooked family meal. However, many of us are happy to sit down to a meal without thinking of the impact our food has on the environment, and whether our diet is sustainable. A recent report by WWF found that the growing, producing and importing of food in the UK is responsible for a staggering 30% of our CO2 emissions [1]. The UK’s climate makes it necessary to import certain foods from around the world, which is causing one of the largest environmental impacts: the clearing of huge tracts of land and rainforest for cattle grazing, and for the production of commodities such as soy and palm oil. Not only does this clearing release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it also has devastating consequences for the animals whose habitats are destroyed.
There are a number of ways that you can make your diet more sustainable, while also reducing your shopping bills, and getting to experience fresher, tastier produce, without having to make any major changes to your lifestyle:
Buy Food in Bulk
Food packaging contributes heavily to the life cycle emissions of food items, with individually packaged items also requiring more space for transportation. Buying food in bulk reduces the amount of packaging that is produced and that ends up in your shopping trolley, which in turn reduces the amount of direct packaging that ends up in landfill sites. Bulk food can also be packed more densely for transportation, reducing the amount of vehicles on our roads.
Check out some fair trade products on Energy Saving Warehouses’ shopping portal which you can buy in bulk.
Eat Seasonally
Growing fruit and vegetables out of season can require high levels of fertilisers, heating and other artificial inputs, which can be vastly reduced by eating food that is in season. As well as the environmental benefits, fresh seasonal produce tastes better and is often cheaper than buying the same produce out of season [2]. Try blackberries, courgettes and runner beans in September, or potatoes and red cabbage in November when they are at their freshest and tastiest. Buying produce in season reduces the need for importing and its accompanying environmental impacts. Websites such as Eat Seasonably provide in depth information about what to grow and buy when, in an easy to understand format, such as the Eat Seasonably Calendar [3].
Shop at Farmer’s Markets
Instead of buying all your produce at supermarkets, try visiting your local farmer’s market to see what is available there. Not only are you buying local, seasonal produce, you also cut down considerably, if not completely, on packaging. Produce will not have been transported far, and many sellers are now organic, so you don’t have to worry about the effects that pesticides and fertilisers are having on the quality of your food, and also on the ecosystem. You can often find added extras, such as cooking demonstrations and a wider variety of produce than many supermarkets have to offer.
Most farmer’s markets are held at weekends, and may be fortnightly rather than every week, so make sure to check when your local one will be there.
Pick Your Fish and Cuts of Meat Carefully
Meat is one of the most inefficiently produced food types – raising cattle and other animals requires large amount of land, water and grain. On average it takes 6kg of plant protein to produce only 1kg of meat protein [4]. Cutting down the amount of meat in your diet is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, and can also help to improve your health. Try replacing fattier cuts of meat with leaner cuts or fish, or even with vegetarian alternatives, such as Quorn or vegetables themselves. Websites such as Part-Time Carnivore provide forums for those wishing to reduce their meat intake to find like-minded people who live in the same area, and gives you statistics of how much CO2 and land you have saved, even by having just one meat free day a week [5].
When buying fish, try to make your choice a sustainable one, by looking for Marine Stewardship Council certified seafood. The council has conducted extensive research into the the impacts on fish stocks and the environment of fishing, and aims to promote sustainability through all stages of the process.
Plan Your Portions
Food waste is a major issue in the UK – over 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink are thrown away each year. Not only does food waste have an environmental impact, it also costs households on average £680 a year [6]. By reducing the amount of food you throw away, you reduce your carbon footprint and also your shopping bills.
One way to reduce your waste is by planning your portions. By knowing what and how much you will eat over a certain time period, you can make sure that you buy enough food to create your meals without having platefuls left over. Simple tricks like keeping a shopping list in the kitchen to plan for meals or freezing leftovers can help to make your food last longer. Try using an online portion calculator such as Love Food Hate Waste to help work out how much of each food type you need for a range of different meals [7].
References
[1] WWF. Food. 2013. http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/changing_the_way_we_live/food/
[2] Eat Seasonably. What is it about? 2013. http://eatseasonably.co.uk/what-to-eat-now/what-is-this-about/
[3] Eat Seasonably. Seasonal fruit and vegetable calendar. 2013. http://eatseasonably.co.uk/what-to-eat-now/calendar/
[4] WWF. Food. 2013. http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/changing_the_way_we_live/food/
[5] Part-Time Carnivore. Part-Time Carnivore. 2013. http://www.parttimecarnivore.org/
[6] Love Food Hate Waste Scotland. Shopping List Tips. 2013. http://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com/content/can-i-have-writing
[7] Love Food Hate Waste Scotland. Food Portion Size – Portion Calculator. 2013. http://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com/portions/everyday
