Earth-friendly eating

Food that’s good for your body also turns out to be good for the environment

By Janis Graham

From Reader's Digest Magazine

Substitute chicken, fish or vegetables for red meat and dairy just one day a week, and your family of four will eliminate greenhouse gases similar to the amount produced by a 1200km car trip, say researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, who studied the impact of dozens of foods. Other ways to do your part:

Buy local and fresh Local isn’t better if the food is stored for long periods, using up more energy. Fresh-picked fare not only avoids long trips in fume-spewing trucks, planes and boats, but it also packs more nutrients and requires no preservatives.

Choose sun-ripened fruits and vegetables They generate fewer emissions than produce raised in heated greenhouses.

Cut back on processed foods A lot of truck kilometres go into foods with artificial sweeteners, additives, and preservatives because these ingredients are often shipped to the manufacturer from other locations.