We live on just one planet and – so far – it’s the only home we have. For years, experts have been researching sustainable ways to live that make sense for the human race. We recycle our plastics and we compost our food waste. We use the sun to literally power our homes and that’s also now happening with our cars. The one place that we can be extra sustainable is at home, and more specifically, in the kitchen. When you start eating sustainably you are ensuring that the world is a better place.
While you may be up for being a vegetarian or a vegan, it’s not wholly necessary for you to drop meat from your diet to save the planet. However, with the smallest changes you can make the biggest waves, from Superior Farms sustainability in your kitchen to changing the meat and fish you do eat. What we eat has a bigger impact on the planet than you think it does, and you want to do things that avoid deforestation where possible. Food production can be a huge destroyer of wildlife, and it also contributes to climate change. We are what we eat and what we want to be most is sustainable in our efforts. So, let’s take a look at some of the ways that you and your family can be more sustainable in the meals you eat.
- Change up your seafood choices. Not every fishing company out there is a sustainable one, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to enjoy fish. You can still do it, but you can do it more sustainable when you choose smaller fish like squid, sardines and herring over salmon or tuna. You can even make a difference when you swap shrimp for bivalves like mussels and clams.
- Meat-free Monday. If you don’t want to be a vegan or swap every steak you eat for legumes, that’s okay. However, you can still make a difference by eating meat one day less per week. It’s not all that much to ask, either, as it just means that one night a week you swap your meaty main for a tofu surprise. Cattle need a lot of food and this drives on deforestation. One day per week without it won’t hurt!
- Get a little diverse. If you want to eat more sustainably, it’s vital that you eat a bigger variety of foods than you ever have. 75% of the food around the world comes from a pool of five animals and 12 plants. If you do more like eating rice, lentils and kale, fonio, cactus and pumpkin, you’re going to be eating higher yield crops.
- Reduce your waste. If you’re not yet composting your food waste, then you should start now. Buy loose produce and reduce your plastic usage, and freeze anything that you cannot eat while it’s fresh so that it’s going to last longer. You can reduce the amount of food that you waste every single day by making smaller, simpler choices.