I have heard that one reason to buy local was because of the amount of oil and gas that is used to transport our food. The carbon footprint on non local food is very large. I knew about the oil used to transport our food from far away places so we can have fresh fruits and vegetables of our choice at any time during the season but forgot about the many hidden oil and carbon footprint creation in our food process. Here are just a few:
1) Energy used in making and transporting the synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
2) Energy used in making the packaging that comes on all of our food products including the plastic bags we put produce in and the bags we bring home our groceries in each time.
3) Energy to make all the processed food we eat as well as transportation of raw ingredients to the factory to make them as well as transporting them to the stores.
4) Energy used to make the planes, trucks, tractors and other equipment to grow and transport the food.
As you can well imagine the list could go on and on. The main point of this is that there is a lot of hidden carbon generation in our food as we eat it today. Here are some practical ways to cut down on your food carbon footprint.
1) Decrease consumption of "convenience" foods. Most of them are not that good for you anyway.
2) Eat fresh vegetables and fruits in season.
3) Buy your fruits and vegetables at local Farmer's Market or from the farmer's themselves.
4) Grow as many of your own fruits and vegetables.
5) Look for or ask for local foods within your stores.
6) Look for local sources of food.
1) Energy used in making and transporting the synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
2) Energy used in making the packaging that comes on all of our food products including the plastic bags we put produce in and the bags we bring home our groceries in each time.
3) Energy to make all the processed food we eat as well as transportation of raw ingredients to the factory to make them as well as transporting them to the stores.
4) Energy used to make the planes, trucks, tractors and other equipment to grow and transport the food.
As you can well imagine the list could go on and on. The main point of this is that there is a lot of hidden carbon generation in our food as we eat it today. Here are some practical ways to cut down on your food carbon footprint.
1) Decrease consumption of "convenience" foods. Most of them are not that good for you anyway.
2) Eat fresh vegetables and fruits in season.
3) Buy your fruits and vegetables at local Farmer's Market or from the farmer's themselves.
4) Grow as many of your own fruits and vegetables.
5) Look for or ask for local foods within your stores.
6) Look for local sources of food.
.bmp)
No comments:
Post a Comment