The Eco Way To Eat In 2010
Unless you have been living on another planet recently, you will know that environmental and sustainability issues have been a hot topic. Twenty years ago, very few people even thought about where their food, tableware or clothing etc came from. They just paid their money and got what they wanted. This attitude is not sustainable however, and a shift in thinking is needed especially in these times of weak economy and global warming. Here are some ideas to help save the planet and local economies when having a simple meal.
Local Producers. We have become complacent about being able to buy things like bananas all year round and having access to every spice under the sun. The fact that products such as these are having to be transported over many hundreds, if not thousands of miles has large ramifications. Not only does the transport release vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, due to burning fuel and having to use a food and wine cooler to keep the produce chilled all the way, but also local food suppliers struggle to compete with low foreign costs. If you don’t want to see local businesses going under, make sure you support them and shop local as much as you can.
Less Packaging. It is staggering just how much packaging is used to make modern food attractive and increase their life-span. A single cake might be individually wrapped, inside a small box with a plastic place-holder, which is wrapped in cellophane and transported inside a cardboard box, with the other cake boxes. It is often the case that such packaging is completely redundant, so do your bit and try to buy loose or sensibly wrapped goods.
Ethically Sourced Accessories. Ensuring your meal times do not cost the planet means thinking about more than just your food. All sorts of things from which cutlery is used to which wine gifts you buy others can have an impact and you should think carefully before making a choice. Ask yourself where this product has come from, is it something that could be made from a more sustainable material, and is this a disposable product when I could be buying a reusable one? Disposable chopsticks for example cause thousands of trees to be cut down every day, when a good reusable pair can last a lifetime.