If you want to give your environmental wellness a kick-start, the best place the begin is in your kitchen. A few small changes can help you to go green, and soon you’ll be taking care of the planet’s wellbeing, as well as your own, one meal at a time.
In 2006, the United Nation’s release a report that said ‘the “livestock sector” generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, trains, ships, and planes in the world combined.’ This means that trying to avoid meat in your meals can make a huge impact on the environment. You don’t have to give up burgers altogether, but why not try eating a plant-based diet for just a day and see how you feel?
It’s surprising how easy, delicious and fun vegan cooking can be, whether you opt for a “meat-free Monday” or try to eat vegan lunches every day. If you need help with plant-based eating, try searching for your favourite dishes on the Finding Vegan website. For salads, join the salad in a jar craze. This helps you to take salads into work, without them going soggy by lunchtime, and you can get your recycling juices flowing as well. Clean up and use jars from pasta sauces and jams to create cool food storage options in your fridge and pantry.
When you’re stocking up your kitchen cupboards, try to buy local produce. Depending on where you live, this may or may not be an easy option, but almost everywhere has some sort of delicious local produce or speciality. Shopping at your local grocery store or vegan bakery cuts cutting down on the amount of transportation required in the making of your meal. This helps the planet because less air and car transport means less exhaust into the blue sky and more fresh foods on your plate, plus you’re supporting your local economy!
When you’re in your local shops, make sure you read the food labels. You may already check out a product’s caloric and nutritional content, but next time check its green status. Some product labels will list great green selling points, such as vegan, non-GMO, organic and more. Companies may even boast if they’ve used green energy to produce their products, and you can also investigate the environmental wellness of the packaging. Look to see if the product is made from a percentage of recycled materials, or if you can easily recycle the packaging yourself.
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