The steps basically result in smaller carbon foot prints or lower chemical impact. What's so bad about the chemicals you ask? Well, the chemicals can have an affect on the environment in many ways as we hear about every day on the news. In addition to that though, chemicals even in small doses have been found to cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood development. So now we all know why this has become increasingly important to me.
- Eat more locally produced/grown and in season foods -Depending on where you live, this could be extremely easy or somewhat challenging. Even if you live in a less temperate area, there is still probably at least a short growing season. Eating foods that are grown locally and in season is very earth friendly. It saves foods from otherwise having to be packaged, preserved, and shipped all across the world. This means a much smaller carbon footprint and very likely that the foods have much fewer chemicals on the food that could leach into the environment or into your body. This includes fruits, veggies, and meats.
Not only is this better for the environment, but it could also save you some money. These foods and you'll likely find that these foods taste better. These are likely the same foods you'll see on weekly special in the produce section of your grocery store during the growing season. In many areas of the US this includes squashes, green beans, tomatoes, corn, peppers, strawberries, apples, okra, eggplant and other similar produce items during the summer and parts of the fall. Because these products are in abundance during their in season time, they'll be on sale and will likely taste the freshest. With the increased popularity of farmers markets and CSAs you can likely find a farm in your area where you can support your local economy and likely find farmers that practice sustainable farming practices that results in better standards for the environment and better tasting food. I'll talk more about CSAs at another point, but these are definitely a great option to look into. - Organic Foods - Organic foods have specific standards and practices that must be followed for items to be classified as organic. These products are grown sustainably and don't have harmful pesticides and chemicals on them. They also are not genetically modified and if you ever had produce straight from a garden and remember the taste of it, you'll likely recognize organic produce as having that familiar very wonderful and aromatic taste that a lot of your regular veggies don't have. With that said, many times you'll find that organic veggies and fruits are more expensive than your conventional produce. This is because the organic certification costs farmers money to obtain and the sustainable and ecofriendly processes they follow tend to be more costly to maintain.
With that said, there are two options I'd recommend following if you are like me and don't have an unlimited food shopping budget. Consider locally grown produce and talk to the farmers. Many of them grow their products using organic methods, but haven't obtained certification due to the cost of doing so. Therefore you are getting local, organic products (which is essentially the best of both worlds for you and our environment) without the higher cost associated with it.
If you aren't fortunate enough to have local farms near you or their hours of operation don't match up with your schedule, consider buying organic produce for only the top 'dirty dozen' products first and the clean 15 last. See http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php for a handy wallet guide you can print out.
Basically, the top most pesticide ridden products (meaning the most chemicals are used during the growing process and/or the chemicals are absorbed more into the produce) are in order: 1) Peaches 2) Apples 3) Bell Peppers 4) Celery 5) Nectarine 6) Strawberries 7) Cherries 8) Kale 9) Lettuce 10) Imported Grapes 11) Carrots 12) Pears. So if you enjoy these foods, buy these in organic as your first step towards eating Green. Also consider growing these yourself if you can in a sustainable manner. I started growing strawberries last year and I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful they tasted - they actually tasted like I remember strawberries from my childhood garden tasting and I remembered why I enjoyed them so much. I also want to grow my own apples and peaches, but for now I've been buying them from a local farm that practices sustainable growing methods. If you grow them yourself or talk to the farmers who do grow them, you can know exactly what pesticides and chemicals are on your products.
The top 15 clean products (meaning that fewer chemicals are used and the chemicals leach into them the least during the growing process) that you should switch to organic last are in order: 1) Onion 2) Avocado 3) Sweet Corn 4) Pineapple 5) Mango 6) Asparagus 7) Sweet Peas 8) Kiwi 9) Cabbage 10) Eggplant 11) Papaya 12) Watermelon 13) Broccoli 14) Tomato and 15) Sweet Potato. - Eat less processed food. When grocery shopping, this means staying on the perimeters of the store. When you look at boxed and packaged goods, the more items you can't pronounce the worse it is for you typically. I was amazed to find out the canned goods I'd been eating for so long were actually not very good for me. The cans are lined with BPA - yep the same stuff that was in the plastic scares - to prevent rusting. Plus most of them have a lot of salt and other chemicals in them. Simply switching to frozen or glass jarred versions of your canned goods is a great way to eat better for yourself and your family.
This one is a more difficult one for me because while I can easily make some of the boxed goods without processed materials (such as home made mac n cheese) it's way more convenient and quicker to fix from a box. Especially after working 8-10 hour days and when you aren't feeling good (like being 9 months pregnant for instance) fixing something a box is much easier and can be much cheaper than shredding cheese, boiling pasta, making sauce, etc. So do what you can here, but keep in mind it's better for you and your family to avoid these foods as much as possible.
So that's my advice for taking the first few steps towards eating healthier. If you are lucky, you'll have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's near you so you can buy more ecofriendly and healthy versions of these foods without having to worry much. Unfortunately for me, I don't have any very close by, so I'm frequently left having to make the best choices with the resources I have.
As I learn more and have more time, I'll go more in depth into other options you can take as you evolve further into your new found green and crunchy lifestyle.
~Amber
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