What are you eating?
We are often told what food is good for us and the health of our families, such as fruits, vegetables, unprocessed foods, but what about for the environment? Which foods have the greatest impact on the world we live in?
I found this great infographic that helps to visualize the carbon footprint of some of the most common foods we consume (all of which are considered to be healthy foods). Take a look and see if the foods you and your family buy are on here and how much they impact the environment.
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So what can you do to lower your impact based on the foods you buy? As evident on the graphic meats and cheese products have some of the worst carbon footprints. Start by eating less of these in your diet, eating tons of meat isn’t actually all that good for you anyways. However if you don’t want to give up meat, make sure you shop for grass-fed or pasture-raised meats, find meat without antibiotics or hormones, and avoid processed meats (like hotdogs and chicken nuggets), know where your food comes from.
You can also fill up more on plant based foods like vegetables, nuts, tofu, and grains. Whenever you buy any product try to buy organic. Buying organic means that there were no added chemicals, there is no use of pesticides or fertilizers, that can harm our planet.
If you don’t see any way that this will fit into your lifestyle, just buy less foods, especially meats. Wasted food goes straight to landfills where it sits and decays, releasing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. I know the majority of us have bought plenty of food that we just never eat, whether it was on our plate or still in the refrigerator. Buy foods only when you need them so you don’t waste!
Learn about more ways to reduce your impact at:
When buying seafood check out Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide to help you choose the most ocean-friendly seafood in your region:
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