The eco-food guide

We need food to survive, and here in North America we have no shortage of it. But not all food is created equal. Often times it is cultivated, produced or packaged in unsustainable ways. Be it the monoculture of modern agriculture, deforestation for cattle production, or the over fishing of the oceans, there is usually always something wrong with the food we are eating.
A lot of it is beyond our control, but we can take actions to reduce the impact these malpractices have on our environments.


Since globalization has taken hold, a lot of our food comes from halfway across the world. This makes it really hard to know how our food was caught or grown. But there are resources out there to help us make informed decisions.
Here is a list of sustainable seafood options from David Suziki Foundation
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/food-and-our-planet/suzukis-top-10-sustainable-seafood-picks/

As well here is an image of the dirty dozen foods you should really buy organic. Conventional fruits and veggies are sprayed with tonnes of chemical pesticides and herbicides They can bio-accumulate in our systems if we eat too much, making us sick and doing who knows what.



Other quick tips for making the kitchen and grocery shopping more eco friendly:

  • Buy less packaging. This means don't buy bread that's double bagged. Buy cereal without the box if you can. Buy a big box of tea bags that aren't individually packaged. If you must get individually packaged, get paper ones and recycle it! Also, tea bags are compostable as long as they aren't that weird silky material.
  • when buying eggs never get the Styrofoam cartons. the paper ones are recyclable and even compostable! As well, try buying nest laid or free run eggs, because they'll be healthier for you and the chickens too.

Also you can start your own little garden in the summer to take a bit of a load off of large scale agriculture and take control over what chemicals touch your plants. And it's a fun summer activity! This year I'll be starting small but I hope to expand soon. Here are a few tips to aid in your summer garden adventure!

Make this plastic and wire tomato greenhouse- super easy! And it will keep tomatoes growing in colder temperatures. Just don't start your tomatoes until the threat of frost is well passed.

Also, easy pallet garden! Just staple gardening cloth to the back, fill with dirt and plant lettuce and other small plants.

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