What is sustainable eating?
In an organic nutshell, it means avoiding mass-farmed, chemically treated foods by eating locally sourced produce when it is in season. This bypasses importation and packaging costs and supports the local economy. And it’s pretty easy. Here are three tools to help you on your way to environmentally conscious eating.
Find a farmer’s market
While sustainable eating can seem like a closed shop, there’s an easy way to break in: go talk to people. Farmers markets are one of the best places to start. Speak to organic food producers; find out if they are part of a wider food co-op which you could become part of. I was convinced that shopping at farmer’s markets would be more expensive than going to the store. I was wrong. I found a saving of between $5-7 a time, just stocking up on my basic fruit and veg. Organic meat costs a bit more, but the selection on offer at farmer’s markets is of such an obviously high quality that it’s worth treating yourself.
Check out EatwellGuide. It lists the farmer’s markets closest to you as well as advising you as to the produce on offer.
Got an iPhone? Get the Locavore App
One man’s ‘loosey goosey meditation’ on sustainable foods has led to a very smart phone app. The Locavore tells you when and where you can buy the freshest and tastiest seasonal produce in your area. It also tells you what’s in season and what’s coming up, so you can plan your seasonal menu around it. Best app on the market! Check out EnjoymentLand for more details, as well as some intelligent musings on eating environmentally consciously.
Go to a sustainable eating workshop
LocalHarvest offers tours, workshops and organic food events, for committed foodies. It also gives you an idea of the goodies on offer at your local sustainable food farms. Want to buy grain-fed meat, but never see it in the supermarket? Then look it up your nearest supplier on LocalHarvest.com. This is also a great place to find out about sustainable food restaurants. Eating consciously extends way beyond the home, and there are some top dollar organic eateries to check out. The blogs on LocalHarvest are also well worth a read, and foodies can swap ideas on the message board. Reading a site as wide-reaching as Local Harvest makes you realize just how far reaching the sustainable eating cause is.
