In recent years, our eating habits have been changing significantly, and sustainable eating has become an important topic. While the term sustainable is quite a buzzword now, the concept does promote a healthy, conscious, and socially responsible way of acting. There are discussions regarding sustainable practices in many industries, including transportation, fashion, and urban design. However, this is a concept that is also applicable to our eating and consuming habits.
There are many behaviors we have as consumers that we can modify in order to achieve more sustainable eating habits. For example, reducing the amount of food packaging we purchase is one way of achieving this. Looking for organic foods instead of over processed ones can help too. Being mindful of our meat consumption and reducing our food trips can also have quite a positive impact on the environment.
Reduce Food Packaging
One of the best ways to improve our sustainable eating habits is to reduce the amount of packaged food we purchase. Plastic packages and wrapping have a very short life cycle and usually end up in the trash as soon as we arrive home. Thus, looking for food that does not come in plastic packages can help us reduce the amount of waste we are generating. Besides, we also keep these packages and wrappers from ending up in landfills.
Look for Organic Foods Instead
Whenever we are buying food, we should look for organic instead of processed food. The regulations around organic food limit the number of pesticides and other chemicals that companies use to produce this food. As a result, when we shop for organic food, we support sustainable production practices like the use of natural manure, cover crops, and composting.
Be Mindful of Your Meat Consumption
It is not a secret that the meat industry has a huge negative impact on the environment. Animal foods have a very large carbon and water footprint, larger than plant foods. Therefore, we should be mindful of the amount of meat and animal food we are consuming to limit the impact the industry has. This way, we would be supporting sustainable eating habits and more ethical food production practices, too.
Reduce Your Food Trips
Lastly, reducing the number of food trips we take is another great way of adopting sustainable eating and consuming practices. We often forget that just the act of driving somewhere to get food already has a negative impact on the environment. So, we should plan ahead and avoid traveling to buy groceries more than necessary. This will not only help reduce the environmental impact but will help us save some really useful gas bucks in the long run, too.
