Eating green requires all brains on deck!
- added January 28, 2008
- 4 responses
-
-
-
- leahl
- added this
-
-
- related topics
-
- Earth and Science (12557)
- Health (4129)
- Climate Change (1670)
- Green (832)
- Local Food (23)
- Buy Local (6)
- locavore (2)
Yesterday, NPR's Here & Now program hosted author James McWilliams, to talk about "locavores" (it's the 2007 Word of the Year, after all) and some of the ins and outs of food miles vs. life cycle as a way to measure the impact of your eating choices. The gist: sometimes, it takes more energy to grow and harvest local food than it does to grow it far away and have it shipped in, e.g. if you're trying to reduce your carbon footprint, local food isn't always the best choice.
Though this isn't the first time we've discussed this idea, the whole segment is worth a listen. If you're looking for one takeaway, it should probably be this: there is no silver bullet, no one right way to consume food, all the time. Food miles, seasonality and energy inputs (was that chicken raised on grass pasture or fed engineered slop in a cage?) are all important considerations when sourcing your food; eating green is not about putting the blinders on to "eat local" at all costs, or "eat organic," or any other eating buzzword. Eating green is a lifestyle, a mindful way to approach how you fuel yourself without requiring too much fuel from the planet. ::Here & Now
Though this isn't the first time we've discussed this idea, the whole segment is worth a listen. If you're looking for one takeaway, it should probably be this: there is no silver bullet, no one right way to consume food, all the time. Food miles, seasonality and energy inputs (was that chicken raised on grass pasture or fed engineered slop in a cage?) are all important considerations when sourcing your food; eating green is not about putting the blinders on to "eat local" at all costs, or "eat organic," or any other eating buzzword. Eating green is a lifestyle, a mindful way to approach how you fuel yourself without requiring too much fuel from the planet. ::Here & Now
-
I simplified by not eating chicken, or beef, or pork, or fish or.... you get it. Of course veggies and tofu have an impact too... but, vegetarianism can have a big impact on YOUR impact...
-
Have you read The Omnivore's Dilemma? I'm reading it now, and it's definitely making me rethink the way I eat.
(It also kinds of me want to go buy a ranch in Wyoming and raise sheep or something equally ridiculous, but I'm trying to ignore that part.) -
I just bought Omnivore's Dilemma and I can't wait to start reading it! I also read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which I definitely recommend (though it will also have you longing for a lovely little farm in the countryside where you can grow all of your own food and spend the hot afternoons canning tomatoes and making apple juice). It totally changed the way I eat. I never really considered how much of an impact it has to get bananas grown thousands of miles away shipped into the UK.
I try to eat as green as possible (but every once in a while, I must have a banana... I'm no fundamentalist locavore) and as organic as possible. I'm also an economic vegetarian, because, well, i just can't afford meat sometimes. -
Here's an excellent excerpt from the book that I will never forget. The kicker:
"If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That's not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast."
Login/Registration is required to add a response.
