Happy Earth Day! What’s food got to do with loving earth? A whole lot. Most of the world’s land gets used for agriculture. The foods you choose affect the planet in a major way. Since we all eat every day, we have a chance to show our environment some kindness. Here are five ways to feast in a way that’s good for you and the earth!
Get Comfy in the Kitchen
Mastering a few go-to recipes – stir-fry vegetables, whip up a pot of rice or whole grains, stir up a salad dressing – is guaranteed to reduce your carbon footprint, save some of your hard-earned cash, and make life better. Restaurant meals and takeout use more water and energy to produce, and just think of all those wasted plastic spoons and ketchup packets! When you and your kitchen are on great terms, it’s much more likely you you can find tasty uses for leftovers, and turn foods that are in season or on sale into creative yet simple meals.
Eat the Rainbow!
Maybe you’ve heard this before. Diverse hues of fruits and vegetables are signs of varied nutrient content —exactly what our bodies need to thrive. This nutritional biodiversity is also key for ecological health. Just head to the pretty, rainbow-colored Fairway produce department and let your eyes feast.
Savor What’s In Season
A nectarine at the peak of summertime perfection is a juicy delicacy to behold. In wintertime: meh. At Fairway, find great produce in season, much of it local. Right now it’s time for sweet-as-candy pineapples, savory artichokes, spring peas and lettuces, curly-cue fiddlehead ferns, rhubarb, radishes, and fragrant herbs. Seasonal fruits and veggies tend to be the highest quality and the most nutritious. Plus, imported foods come with a heavy fossil fuel cost. Win for your bod, your tastebuds, and the earth.
Feast on Leftovers
Using leftovers is about making more from what you already have. I bet you could be putting more of our food to good use. Start by brushing up on how to use stems and roots…saute beet tops and serve with your roasted beets. Turn your stale Fairway baguettes into breadcrumbs or a summery panzanella (Tuscan bread salad), cook with that leftover wine, and simmer chicken bones to make heavenly homemade stock.
Finish your carrots! In the United States, 40 percent of food gets trashed before being eaten…that means almost half the energy, water, and land used in farming goes to waste. So sad, right? Food that ends up in landfills contributes to emissions of methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas.