How to Fight Global Warming Through Diet

As Sweden undergoes an experiment of adding labels to foods listing carbon dioxide emissions associated with each food, one might wonder how their dietary habits may be affecting global climate change. Assuming that global warming is in fact caused by humans and that there is something we can do about it, the Swedes may be onto something. This experiment is integrating the way we think about nutrition and the environment.

According to The New York Times article by Elizabeth Rosenthal, Sweden Looks to Diet to Cut Global Warming, recommendations include carrots over cucumbers and tomatoes as the later two must be grown in green houses there. Surprisingly, they are not counseled to eat fish due to depleted stocks in Europe. They are also advised to chose beans and chicken over read meat, in light of the heavy emissions associated with raising cattle.

According to the NY Times Article, there are many factors that play into the environmental cost of foods including the environmental cost of raising cattle, transportation of food, the type of soil used, whether a dairy farmer uses local rapeseed or imported soy for cattle feed.

The process of labeling foods and then understanding those labels is a bit controversial however, these common sense suggestions you will find for fighting global warming through diet are not only going to reduce your carbon footprint, but they are also common sense steps for good health.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Eat seasonal and locally grown foods. Locally grown foods are a great choice because they have not had to travel far to get to you, reducing the environmental cost of transportation of foods. If you are not sure how to find locally grown foods, check out the website Local Harvest in the resources, where you can find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.

2. Grow your own foods. Planting fruit trees are an easy way to get started on the road to growing your own foods. Growing your own herbs, fruits and vegetables can greatly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions associated from the foods you consume. Growing your own food, you can make sure it's as organic and fresh as possible.

3. Limit your intake of red meat. Limiting your intake of red meat is not only good for the environment, as the CO2 emissions associated with raising cattle are high, but it is good for your health. Opt for lean sources of protein such as beans, chicken and turkey. If you aren't prepared to give up red meat, consider buying meat from only locally raised, grass fed cows or in other words "happy cows". Some people are lucky enough that they can get a group of people together who share the costs of raising a few calves each year in their local region and split the cost of the butcher, ensuring the health and quality of their personal meat supply.

4. Invest some time into meal planning. If you can plan your weekly or monthly menu ahead of time, you can make less trips to the grocery store. Having a menu plan will also allow you to purchase the foods you know you will be using in bulk, reducing packaging and saving you money. Your planned grocery list will also limit the amount of excess food that you might buy that may not end up being used and go to waste.

5. Consider the packaging when you are purchasing food items. If you can choose between a product with recyclable packaging, go for that and make sure that you do in fact recycle the packaging later on.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid processed foods as much as you can. The more complicated the label is to read, the more you should stay away.
• Recycle your food containers and grocery bags (if you don't use reusable bags)
• I'm personally not a fan of the idea of adding more labels and regulations to all foods, it gets too complicated and may hurt smaller farmers. But I think using common sense along with some of the steps above, you can lead a greener, healthier life.

Resources

• eHow's Green Gardening Guide - Organic Gardening
• Local Harvest - Find Organic Food Grown Closest to You
• How to Raise Grass Fed Cattle

[Rockney]

on 10/31/2009 A very thoughtful article! 5*!

[mymind]

on 10/29/2009 Informative article on global warming and food.

[ljstraight]

on 10/28/2009 I agree think and consider. 5 stars

[natnickeep]

on 10/27/2009 Very interesting I had no idea that what we ate mattered to the rest of the world. I have never needed to diet because of weight issues but this may be my new reason. Thanks for a great eHow article.