5 Tips For Sustainable Eating
Eating in the modern age is fraught with a plethora of choices, all of which can be highly consequential not just for our personal health, but also for the health of the planet. Making conscience choices about the food we choose to eat can lead to a more nutritiously dense and ecologically sustainable dietary pattern, safeguarding our own health and the health of generations to come.
There are many ways in which to make conscience food choices that lead to a more sustainable diet. Here are a few options that can have a big impact:
1. REDUCE MEAT CONSUMPTION
Raising animals for meat production requires significant resources, such as space, feed, and water. Plant crops require resources as well, but to a far lesser extent. Research has uncovered a higher ecologically cost for animal-based diets, particularly those containing beef (Marlow et. al., 2009). These costs included substantially higher water, energy, fertilizer, and pesticide use than plant-based diets (Marlow et. al., 2009) as well as a significantly higher carbon footprint for production (Richie & Roser, 2023a).
The Standard American Diet (SAD) is relatively high in meat consumption, a factor that has been associated with increased obesity and chronic disease throughout the country. Frequent consumption of red meat and processed meats has been associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia (Giromini & Givens, 2022), andmeat consumption appears to be increasing in the U.S. (Carrie et. al., 2011).
While it is not practical, medically advisable, or culturally acceptable for every individual to switch entirely to a plant-based diet or vegetarian diet, reducing the frequency of your meat intake can go a long way toward improving the sustainability of your diet. Completely cutting out meat for at least one day per week can be an impactful way to start making your diet more sustainable and health promoting.
The key health consideration when cutting back on meat consumption, is to replace those food items with other whole foods. This means avoid swapping out that bacon for highly processed plant-based bacon substitutes, and instead opt for a high protein whole food breakfast option like nut butter topped with berries served on whole grain bread.
2. PICK SEAFOOD CAREFULLY
Seafood offers a source of animal protein that can be highly nutritious and have a relatively low carbon footprint when compared to meat. In many parts of the world, seafood represents a critical source of high-quality complete protein, and cultures around the globe have long histories and deeply rooted traditions around marine foods. Yet the sustainability of fish stocks themselves can pose a problem for the environmentally conscientious eater.
While the often report trend of world fish stocks to experience total collapse by 2048 appears to be unsupported, large scale stock assessments have determined that roughly one third of the worlds fish stocks are overexploited (Richie & Roser, 2023b). By choosing seafood from carefully managed stocks caught in tightly regulated regions, choosing to eat a diverse array of seafood rather than a high volume of one type, and eating species which are lower on the food chain, you can better ensure that your seafood consumption is sustainable.
There are great resources available to help you identify sustainable seafood options, such as WWF 6 Tips on How to Make Environmentally Responsible Seafood Choices and Monterey Bay Aquariums Seafood Watch
3. EAT SEASONALLY APPROPRIATE FOODS
When you choose foods that are in season, you are both increasing the likelihood that the foods you consume were harvested at peak ripeness and have high nutritional value, and reducing the likelihood that the foods have traveled long distanced to reach you. By reducing the likelihood that your foods have had intensive processing and transportation time, you ultimately reduce the carbon footprint of your food choices.
Trying to eat seasonally but still craving certain foods year-round? Home preserving techniques can offer the perfect solution, however they do require some additional time and resources. Dehydration, freezing, and water bath canning are all options that require relatively few resources outside of what is found in most American homes. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great place to find USDA approved canning recipes (a safety must when you are first getting into home canning). Some foods retain maximum nutrients better with particular types of home preservation, and Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson is a highly informative read on the topic.
Wonderful sources for determining what food is in season near you include FAO’s Searchable Crop Calendar Database, Harvest – Select the Best Produce and The FoodPrint Seasonal Food Guide
4. MINIMIZE FOOD WASTE
Globally, it is estimated that 14% of the world’s food is wasted between harvest and the market, and another 17% is wasted at the retail and consumer levels (FAO United Nations, n.d.). This high level of food waste means that land is being worked, resources are being used, and energy is being wasted for the production of food that will never be consumed by the many people around the world who need it.
Thankfully we can take relatively easy steps to reduce food waste at home:
· Go food shopping with a plan - Meal planning and list making prior to arriving at the store means you are less likely to purchase food items that you won’t consume in a timely manner.
· Make the most of leftovers – Keep leftovers for meals in subsequent days, and experience with recipes and creative ways to ‘refurbish’ leftovers into new meals. Freeze what you can’t eat quickly for easy to prep meals in the future.
· Eat the ugly foods – Food ordering services such as Imperfect Foods and Misfits Market specialize in delivering food to your door that is perfectly nutritious but may not be ‘perfect’ looking enough to sell on the grocery store shelves. Consider ordering from one of these services for convenience and to cut down on food waste.
· Use food that’s about to expire – Pay attention to expiration dates and make sure that items nearing theirs are kept near the front of your fridge or pantry so that you see them and use them quickly.
· Become savvy with substitutes – If you’re baking and the recipe calls for butter but all you have is applesauce, use it! Knowing basic food substitutions can help you to use what is in your pantry or fridge before purchasing more.
· Learn to cook with the whole plant or animal – Find recipes that utilize the whole food item, rather than just it parts. For example, don’t just use the carrot root in the salad, use the greens as well.
Donate unused food – If you realize you’re not going to use a food item by its expiration date or no longer want it, donate the item to your local food bank or pantry. FoodFinder is an excellent resource for finding a food pantry near you.
5. SEEK OUT LOCAL FOODS
In the age of the globalized food system, choosing to eat foods from local sources can provide nutritional benefits to the consumer, while reducing the environmental impact of food consumption and promoting food sovereignty and security. Depending on your location, you may not have food produced in your immediate community, but through careful food selection it should be possible to minimize the distance from which your food comes from.
Some steps you can take to shop local:
· Buy whole food at small locally owned stores rather than large chain stores in your area - This can help to ensure that your consumer dollars stay in the local community.
· Join a CSA program - Consumer supported agriculture (CSA) programs are a wonderful way to buy food directly from farms closest to your area. Find a CSA near you.
· Shop at your local farmers market – Shopping at a farmers’ market can help connect you to local and seasonal foods. Find a farmers’ market near you.
· Grow your own food – Growing your own food can be nutritionally rewarding and increase your food sustainability. Don’t have much space? No problem! Even growing herbs on a window seal can be a positive element in a sustainable dietary pattern. Check out resources in your area for shared space, such as community gardens.
· Seek out restaurants that buy from local food producers – Many restaurants will proudly advertise when they feature items from local farmers on their menus. Support these types of establishments when possible and make sure to tell restaurant staff how much you appreciate their supporting locally produced food.
Resources
Carrie, D., Cross, A., Koebnick, C., & Sinha, R. (2011). Trends in meat consumption in the United States. Public Health Nutr, 14(4), 575-583.
FAO United Nations. (n.d.). Food loss and waste. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/nutrition/capacity-development/food-loss-and-waste/en/
Giromini, C., & Givens, D. I. (2022). Benefits and risks associated with meat consumption during key life processes and in relation to the risk of chronic diseases. Foods, 11(14), 2063.
Marlow, H. J., Hayes, W. K., Soret, S., Carter, R. L., Schwab, E. R., & Sabate, J. (2009). Diet and the environment: does what you eat matter?. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 89(5), 1699S-1703S.
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2023a). Less meat is nearly always better than sustainable meat, to reduce your carbon footprint. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/less-meat-or-sustainable-meat
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2023b). Fish and overfishing. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/fish-and-overfishing#:~:text=It%20estimates%20that%20around%20one,relatively%20stable%20in%20recent%20decades.