I recently read an article that described how our food habits and our carbon footprint in the production of the majority of our food, in general, are slowly destroying our planet. While focusing on your nutrition goals, it is also important to focus on how your lifestyle impacts our environment and therefore, how it will impact our future generations. The more research that I do, the more informed I am about current events along with how I can do my part to prevent these negative effects. More specifically, how our change in diet habits as a whole is crucial for the future of this planet that we like to call home.

Harvard Universities School Of Public Heath stated in an article, “Sustainability is a multifaceted issue, in which the food production system and our diets play a crucial role. Achieving a healthy and sustainable food future is an urgent matter that depends on global collaborative efforts”.

With this in mind, I want to share some of the changes I made in my diet and lifestyle to not only nourish my own body, but take care of our planet as well:

1) Purchase less plastic Packaged products

A few years back, I switched to a dairy-free diet. In doing so, I realized just how many cartons of milk I would purchase a month. When I began to implement oat and almond milk into my diet, I realized that instead of purchasing plastic cartons, I was purchasing paper ones. According to the Innovate Eco website, a plastic carton can take 450 years or more to decompose while a paper carton may take only 5 years.

Another way that I have reduced my plastic use at the grocery store is by using reusable grocery bags, as plastic bags are currently a global threat as they can take 500-1000 years to decompose. This means the first plastic bag ever produced still hasn’t broken down completely. It is important to understand the effects our everyday decisions have on the future of our planet, as it will help us to be more conscious about our decision making.

2) Shop for produce that is in season

Have you ever bought a pack of blueberries only to use them the next morning and realize that you bought a pack of blue, tasteless, and mushy berries? Every fruit and vegetable, while is being supplied to us in our local supermarket year-round, does not grow year-round. For example, here is a basic seasonal produce guide:

Spring: apples, apricots, asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, carrots, garlic, kale, lemons, mushrooms, pineapple, kiwi, spinach, strawberries

Summer: apples, avocados, bananas, cherries, cucumbers, honeydew melon, limes, mango, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon

Fall: bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, ginger, grapes, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, apples, bananas, beets

Winter: pumpkin, grapefruit, collard greens, celery, apples, avocados, beets, cabbage, turnips

Purchasing produce that is out of season requires transportation of all types, which in turn, leads to the emissions of gas into our atmosphere. Focus on consuming seasonal foods!

3) cook at home

Cooking at home, while being one of my free forms of therapy, is also a conscious way of protecting our planet, and our bodies. In the fast-paced world we live in today which is dominated by the idea of convenience, many people fall into the fast-food trap that big businesses advertise for. While you may see advertisements for McDonald’s, or Starbucks, you rarely see advertisements for grocery stores and cooking. Nowadays, people view cooking and grocery shopping as too time-consuming and opt for pre-packaged meals. Whether they are delivered straight to your home or kept frozen, these meals are full of preservatives, oils, and ‘secret’ ingredients that can infiltrate your health goals.

Cooking at home does not have to be a long process! Personally, I have come to the realization that I am too busy to spend more then an hour making every meal of the day, therefore, I opt for 30 min recipes and base my grocery planning off that for the week. By cooking our own food, not only do we get to better regulate what we are putting in to our bodies, but we also limit the money being given to big businesses to manufacture and transport all their ultra-processed food items.

4) Eat local

In the small beach town that I live in, we host a farmers market every Wednesday. There are always an abundance of popups run by local farmers, and small sustainable businesses. I encourage you to go online and see if your community hosts anything similar!

A really simple way to eat more sustainably is by eating locally grown foods. By supporting local farmers, we are reducing the amount of resources such as fuel, paper, and plastic, needed to transport these fresh foods. Locally sourced food options are also less likely to be sprayed with chemicals and pesticides, which is optimal for our health!

5) Eat more PLANT-BASED

While you may or may not be vegetarian or vegan, implementing a few plant-based meals into your week can do more good for our environment than you may think. With prioritizing protein in every meal that I consume, I used to believe that adding in meat and seafood products was the only way to reach my protein intake of the day, however, in researching the advantages of eating plant-based, I began to put a little more thought and effort into my meal plan. Some of my favorite high-protein plant-based options include tofu (10g protein per 1/2 cup), quinoa (8g per 1 cup), lentils (9g per 1/2 cup), chickpeas (7g per 1/2 cup) and chia seeds (2g per tbsp).

While there are not many prevalent negative side effects to consuming meat for our bodies, there are negative effects on our planet. I recently read an article titled “Ways To Eat For the Planet” stating that “The Livestock industry alone generates 15% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions”. By lowering our purchasing of such products, we can do our part in preserving the health world we live in.