Green your Eats!
No doubt we can all remember being told to “Eat Your Greens” as kids, especially those of us from the Waste Not Want Not generations when food was less plentiful. Now food is piled high and sold cheap and we have a more casual approach to food waste. And while the food may be cheap, the cost to our precious planet is high.
Producing food uses significant natural resources including land, water and energy. Yet in the UK we throw away nearly 10 million tonnes of food each year. So what can we all do to help? Here are a few simple ideas to consider:
Plan ahead: It might seem obvious but making a meal plan and shopping list will you help buy the right amount you need and reduce the chances of impulse-buying at the supermarket. This can save you money, too.
Eat less meat: Meat production is responsible for generating the same greenhouse gas emissions as all cars, trucks and automobiles combined. Cattle farmers continue to cut down millions of square miles of forests for grazing pastures, decimating natural carbon sinks and wildlife. And replacing some of your meat meals with plant-based ones is healthier for you.
Use your leftovers: Love Food Not Waste has a website full of leftover recipe ideas and if you’re a bit of a bookworm, Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall has published a huge book dedicated to leftovers. One for the Christmas wish list!
Start a compost heap: Rather than sending all those apple cores, potato peelings, egg shells and bits of beyond-salvage lettuce to landfill, they could go in a compost heap, along with your garden waste, to create your own compost. This will also save money on commercial compost and the plastic bags it comes in.
Doggy bags: When we are finally allowed to dine out at our favourite restaurants again, don’t be embarrassed to ask for a doggy bag at the end of your meal if the portion sizes were bigger than your appetite.
Most places are very happy to do this: after all you paid for it and you will have a lovely lunch to look forward to the next day.
So, as you dutifully remember to eat your greens, don’t forget to green your eats at the same time!