Making small changes to your diet is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint with little effort on your part. No, you don't have to be a smoothie-drinking, clean-living vegan goddess to live a bit more sustainably when it comes to food.
Here are five simpler ways to be a sustainable eater …
1. Eat less meat
Let's start with the obvious.
Everyone knows that the meat industry is one of the leading causes of climate change, only getting dirtier and more morally questionable as demand for it rises.
Eating less meat will hugely decrease your personal impact on the planet. And despite what you may think, that doesn't mean you have to go vegan! Cutting out meat just once or twice a week will lend a hand. You might actually find yourself getting more creative with your cooking, discovering that you like vegetables more than you thought, and then be willing to cut down even more. If not, you're still doing your bit to rid the world of one of its most destructive industries.
2. Choose plastic-free
I'm the kind of person who gets disproportionately excited when walking into a zero-waste shop, so I’m eager to recommend them to anyone who fancies turning their weekly shop into an adrenaline rush.
In Edinburgh, you can try out the New Leaf Co-op in Marchmont, the Eco Larder in Haymarket, the Refillery in Newington and Weigh To Go in Leith - not to mention our very own Zero Waste Corner in the David Hume Tower!
But if you don't want to pay the premiums that zero-waste stores so often come with, you still have options. Choose loose veg over pre-packaged stuff in the supermarket. It may look more expensive - the classic conundrum from my first year was whether to buy three peppers in plastic for a pound or two loose ones for 55p each - but per weight it's almost always cheaper. Check it for yourself - those pre-packaged peppers are always tiny! You could also choose to buy your carbs like pasta and rice in 10kg bags from big supermarkets or even online. It may sound simple but it would save the world from ten 1kg single-use plastic bags.
3. Shop local
If you have the ability, try to use local businesses for all your shopping. It's an easy way to combine an ethical lifestyle with a small price tag. Local grocers like MacLeod's in Marchmont or Fruit Connection in Newington are often surprisingly cheap compared to supermarkets. They also offer a wider and wackier range of produce for you to peruse and enjoy.
If you're an early riser, you can also try out the farmers' market at Grassmarket every Saturday morning for deals on basics like fruit, veg, and bread.
4. Shop in season
This often comes alongside shopping locally, but you should strive to shop in season too.
We're used to having foods like avocados, mangoes, or tomatoes available whenever we want them. Fresh produce like this often has to be shipped halfway across the world to meet the out-of-hand demand of the modern consumer. Even a humble tomato comes with a hefty carbon footprint. And let's be honest, the mangoes you can buy in October aren't even nice so why not try something more seasonal? It’ll be more sustainable, and I guarantee it’ll be tastier too.
5. Make bigger portions
One of the hottest global sustainability issues right now is food waste. Over a third of all food fit for human consumption is never consumed, and nearly 50 per cent of that is wasted by households. If you're cooking for one, it can be tough to use up everything you buy, especially since supermarkets package food in much larger amounts than necessary to make you spend more once it eventually goes off.
One way to combat this is to simply make bigger portions and freeze them. Meal prepping is all the rage and for good reason too. It saves time, money, and the planet. Plus, you don't have to throw away that soggy courgette at the end of the week - a win for you and anyone else who shares your fridge.
If you've not got the freezer space, offer the extra portions to your friends or flatmates! You'll get brownie points, no food gets wasted, and they might return the favour. Failing that, you could download a food sharing app like OLIO and offload your potential food waste to likeminded strangers who are in need of a good meal.
Whether you manage one or relish doing all five, these are all super simple ways to be a bit more sustainable. They may require a little extra thought and research to begin with, but they will become second nature with practice.
So, what are you waiting for?
Post written by Maisy Hallam
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