10 Easy Ways to Be a More Sustainable Eater

It’s easy to get caught up in trying to eat healthier. We often forget that our food choices impact more than just our body.  

Legally defined, sustainable agriculture is, “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices” that involve conserving resources with reduced impact on the environment so that future generations can continue to have access to a nourishing food source.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the role then of sustainable eating is to make food choices that are not only healthful for our bodies, but for the environment as well.

So how do we do this? The EAT-Lancet Commission is a group of more than 30 world-leading scientists that get together to review the current literature and provide science-based recommendations for following a healthy, sustainable diet. For 2019, they recommend a global shift towards more plant-based foods (especially legumes, whole grains, and vegetables) and reducing intake of red-meats and sugars.

While it’s great and all to say to simply reduce meat and sugar and eat more plant-based foods, how do we actually go about making these changes? And aren’t there other ways to reduce our carbon-footprint? We’ve got a list of tips and tricks for realistic changes towards a more sustainable diet.

10 Easy ways to make more environmentally friendly food choices:

1. Buy a plant-based meals cookbook. Or follow a plant-based eating blog. While Meatless Mondays are a great way to start reducing your meat intake, the key for sustainable eating is to eat less animal products overall (this includes meat/poultry as well as dairy and eggs).

Many scientists agree that eating plant-based even just a few meals per week is one of the most effective ways to improve the environment in terms of land space, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and pollutants.

Can’t imagine a day without dairy or beef? No need to overhaul your entire diet. Instead, switch just one or two meals a week to plant-based, and slowly increase as you find more go-to recipes.

2. And less pre-packaged foods. While you’re filling up your shopping basket with beans, lentils, grains, fruits, and vegetables, try to also reduce the number of pre-packaged foods you’re grabbing.

Not only are these foods generally less healthy, but they also require more resources to produce, package, and transport than their whole food counterparts. If you rely heavily on pre-packaged items, try slowly decreasing the number each week or month. But make sure you have a healthier, whole-food substitution otherwise you’re likely to break down and go back to your old eating habits.

3. Work your green-thumb. You don’t need a garden to grow your own food (although, if you do it’s a great way to eat more sustainably!).

Herbs are perfect for small spaces, as many can be grown in a pot on your window seal and are an easy starting point. But don’t limit yourself! Sprouts, green onions, and microgreens are all doable in an apartment as well. And if you have a deck, you may even be able to grow tomatoes successfully.

4. Choose local. Notice I didn’t say organic. Not only is buying local produce a good way to support your community, but it also reduces the transportation required to get your food to you. Remember, every time you scan an item at the grocery store, you’re telling the store what they should be buying more of. So, the more people buying local produce, the more the store will want to buy from local producers.

5. And then get even more local. One great way to eat locally and seasonally (which we’ll get to next) is to participate in a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program or shop at farmers markets. Rather than buying produce (or other goods) from a grocery store, these two options take out the middleman and allow you buy directly from the farmer. This is a big way to cut back on greenhouse emissions that result from long-distance transportation of food.

6. Eat seasonally. Talking about long-distance travel, we live in a society where we expect all types of fruits and vegetables to be available year-round. And while in the United States you can find local peaches in July and August, chances are if you want to make a peach pie in January, your peaches will be coming from South America – a pretty far distance.

Wondering what’s in season near you? There are many websites online where you can plug in your state and see what produce you should be buying at what time. I particularly like SeasonalFoodGuide.org.

7. Keep your freezer stocked. However, sometimes you really want that peach pie in January. That’s where freezing comes into play.

Unlike canning, freezing retains many of the nutrients in fresh produce and is a great way to maintain a varied diet when there are less seasonal options. For the ultimate sustainable kitchen, rather than buying pre-packaged frozen fruits and vegetables, buy your produce in bulk when its in season and freeze in batches.

8. Use reusable bags and containers. What we eat isn’t the only impact on the environment. What our foods are packaged in also has huge effects on natural resources.

Rather than using plastic bags and one-time use containers, invest in a set of glass food storage containers and reusable sealable bags. Not only will they save you money (and are incredibly easy to clean), but they’re better for the environment in the long-run.

9. Buy in bulk. Similar to the last point, packaging plays a major role in sustainability, so reducing the amount of packaging needed is an easy way to be more sustainable.

At the grocery store you can bring your own reusable sealable bags for the bulk bin section or if buying food online, aim for larger portions that can be divided into your own reusable containers later.

10. Don’t forget your water bottle at home. I couldn’t talk about sustainability and not mention water bottles.

While food production, especially meat, gets a lot of attention about being resource-heavy, liquids are actually some of the heaviest products to transport, requiring large amounts of fossil fuels. Plus with all the water bottle brands out there now, ranging in all different sizes and prices, there’s no excuse not to buy one.

Taking Action

What are steps that you’ve taken towards more sustainable eating (or living)? We’d love to hear! Drop us a comment below.