The warming of our climate has triggered many consumers to want to do their part to make sustainable changes for our environment. However, it can be tricky to know where to begin, especially when it comes to food.

If you are looking to start making more sustainable food choices, check out these 5 tips below to help get you started.

1. Shop Local

Choosing to purchase foods from local farmers markets and vendors can help reduce pollution from transportation emissions and habitat loss from congested roadways. Local farms often make local purchases which means less transportation.

Additionally, choosing to purchase produce from local farmers can cut down significantly on plastic use as many of these items are not packaged or wrapped whereas many grocery stores wrap pre-cut or pre-portioned produce items in plastic wraps that are single use. 

Reducing plastic wraps by buying local can help to reduce your carbon footprint, especially if you choose to bring your own reusable bags. 

Another advantage of buying local is more options for organic, in-season produce at a better price than at traditional grocery stores. This allows you to make more sustainable choices on a budget.

2. Try Out Meatless Mondays

Choosing to eat more plants and less animal products can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Traditional farming practices for livestock require a large amount of space, water, and feed and generate nearly 15% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Choosing to incorporate more plants and less meat can help to reduce these emissions while also helping to bring more variety to your diet with fruits and vegetables. 

An easy way to start incorporating this in is by doing things like Meatless Mondays. Choose a day and get the whole family involved in creating a meatless meal to enjoy together. You’ll feel better about the health of your family as well as the planet.

3. Bring Your Own Bags 

Cut down on plastic items by bringing your own reusable grocery bags to the store. You can also bring reusable produce bags and ziploc bags for storing your food items at home. 

Single-use plastic items such as grocery bags litter our landfills and pollute our oceans, negatively affecting the health and wellbeing of our valuable marine life. In fact, over 400 million tons of plastic are produced yearly and of that nearly 14 million tons end up in the ocean.

Reusable bags aren’t limited to grocery stores either. Consider keeping a reusable bag in your car or in your purse whenever you go out to cut down on plastic waste. 

4. Grow Your Own 

Another great way to reduce your carbon footprint and create a fun and healthy hobby is to grow your own food. Creating a garden with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs can not only fill you with pride but it also helps to reduce carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, similar to purchasing from a local farmers market. 

Additionally, no plastic packaging is needed and there is no concern for potentially harmful pesticides and herbicides. Not to mention, having home-grown food means less trips to the grocery store and more time outside in the sunshine.

5. Choose Supplements Wisely

Lastly, be sure to choose eco-friendly supplements. This means choosing products with minimal and sustainably grown and sourced ingredients. 

For example, choose the pea protein powder from Naked Nutrition to encourage better farming practices (pea protein is an ideal alternative to whey for those on a plant based diet due to its superior amino acid profile). 

You also want to look for supplements that include clean and pure ingredients that were sourced in the jurisdictions with stringent standards of clean manufacturing practices.

Choosing items that come in larger containers with a longer shelf life can help to avoid frequently purchasing items using single-use packaging. Bonus, buying bulk is typically easier on the budget while being friendlier towards Mother Earth.

6. Bottom Line

There are many easy ways you can incorporate sustainable food choices into your daily routine. If you aren’t sure where to start, consider one of the 5 options listed above. 

While it may take some time to work yourself up to big, eco-friendly changes in your routine, even the smallest steps can make a big difference on the environment.

The post 5 Sustainable Nutrition/Food Tips appeared first on Green Prophet.

What’s in a name? The moniker of the movement called Meatless Mondays pretty much sums up its mission: bail on meat products one day each week – it’s good for your health and good for the planet.

Believed to have started in 2003 at  the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, the campaign’s over a decade old, and growing exponentially. (Quickly learn more with Miriam’s post on its viral spread through Israel – link here).

Sir Paul McCartney launched a website offering recipes and educational materials (link here). A galaxy of stars threw their weight behind the cause: media mogul Oprah Winfrey, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, and rap impresario Russell Simmons go for veggies on Mondays when Coldplay’s Chris Martin also “de-couples” from meat. Billionaire domestic goddess Martha Stewart even penned a cookbook simply titled Meatless!

Resistant to the growing mob of the meat-free? See if these eight reasons to jump aboard the veggie train help motivate you to sign up:

1. Shop more simply.  Prioritizing produce and legumes will shorten your market visits and likely slash that grocery bill. Skip pricey multivitamins and get your supplements straight from natural sources – our bodies absorb nutrients better when they come directly from food.

2. Eat healthier. Some of the fattest folks I know are vegetarians – just because they swore off meat doesn’t mean they’ve eliminated processed, sugary, and fatty foods. To get maximum health bennies you’ll have to go two-pronged here: eliminate meat and junk food. Eliminating meat makes you re-evaluate plant-based options to satisfy your hunger. Avoid processed foods to to decrease obesity and stave off chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

3. Increase heart health. Vegetarians are 36% less likely than meat eaters to suffer from metabolic syndrome – excess belly fat and high blood triglycerides that increase your risk for heart problems. According to an ongoing study at California’s Loma Linda University, skipping meat even one day a week protects your ticker.

4. Sidestep cancer.  Consuming more antioxidant-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables result in lower cancer rates, and what’s not to love about increased fiber intake? If you also target organically grown produce you’ll cut your exposure to carcinogenic pesticides.

5. Chillax! A 2012 study in published in Nutrition Journal stated that people who switch from omnivore to vegetarian scored 39% lower for stress than meat eaters after just two weeks on their new diet. The mood boost is attributed to plant compounds that fight oxidative stress in your body.  So eat more greens to fight the blues.

6. Improve your sex life. No secret that feeling less stressed (see 5 above), healthier (that would be 2 above), and having more cash to spend on fabulous dates (see 1) will all help your love life, but Green Prophet Sex-pert Tinamarie explains, “How we eat and where our food comes is intimately connected to taking better care of the planet and one another.

“After all, sexual well being thrives when our bodies are nourished the right way, and when our minds and hearts are receptive and invigorated by meaningful connections to one another.

7. Live longer. Studies link vegetarian diets and decreased caloric intake to longer life. It may be the result of vegetarians’ lower body mass index, which can protect against heart disease and high blood pressure. Going meat-free once (or twice!) a week also compliments rational diets such as the 5/2 fasting plan.

8. Save the world with your fork.  Skipping meat once a week reduces your carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions, and saves millions of gallons of precious water.

Mentally, I’m ready to swear off meat full-time, but a recent trip from Jordan to Cyprus – where crispy pork bacon was available at every breakfast – threw a spotlight on my Achilles heel. Meatless Monday appeals to me – I’m thinking this gentle intro to vegetarianism will help me swear off meat for good.

If you also give it a try – would you leave us a comment describing your experience?  You may devise some tips and tactics that will help others join the movement.

The post 8 reasons to go meatless on Mondays – take our challenge! appeared first on Green Prophet.