5 food choices to reduce your environmental footprint

From our daily food choices to industrial agricultural practices, the environmental impacts of food range far and wide. At home and at work, even seemingly simple choices can make a measurable difference to both our own carbon footprint and global climate change.

A 2018 report in Science found that the food industry is responsible for over a quarter (26%) of global greenhouse gas emissions, and half of the world’s habitable (ice- and desert-free) land is used for agriculture. As individuals, we can contribute to bringing that number down by making informed choices about what we eat and where it comes from. Here are five ways to set that change in motion.

1. Eat local and in season

One way to reduce the carbon footprint of your groceries is to buy fruit and vegetables that are in season and, where possible, locally produced. Explore the wide world of local produce and other foods (like honey!) by shopping your community’s farmers market or ordering a weekly farm basket. When you do buy from farther afield, check where your groceries are coming from: some countries use environmentally friendly practices for harvesting fruits, vegetables, coffee, and other crops.

At the same time, cutting down on meat consumption as a population can mitigate climate change, according to a 2019 special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Currently, a whopping 94% of mammal biomass (excluding humans) is livestock, outweighing wild mammals by a factor of 15-to-1.4. 

Quick tip!
If you’re an omnivore, look for meat from farms that practice low-impact agriculture: you’ll be supporting sustainable agriculture, and small business, too. And for the health of the oceans, go for sustainable seafood that locally caught and not commercially overfished. 

2. Cut down on food waste to reduce your environmental footprint

The impact of food waste across the supply chain is “a far-reaching problem with tremendous financial, ethical and environmental costs.” No one really wants to throw out food, but it happens every day in massive quantities, with households responsible for the largest portion of food waste. Instead of feeling guilty about it, take action, starting with tracking how much food goes from your fridge straight into the compost or garbage in a week.

If you’re not eating that lettuce you bought with good intentions or leaving leftovers to spoil, you might need a weekly food plan that you can stick to, or simply buy and prepare less food if you’re not really a fan of leftovers.

Outside your own kitchen, ask your supermarket by email what their policy is on throwing out food, knowing that inquiries from customers do matter and have spurred large food retailers to implement food waste initiatives.

Quick tip!
Leftovers? Put them in the freezer, not the fridge. Vegetables and fruits? Make them into a smoothie and freeze them in one-serving portions for later.

3. Choose organic food when you can

Organic food is a trend that’s stuck around for a reason: it’s so much more than a trend. Organic farming practices by their nature have a lower environmental impact : they grow without using synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides . They also protect soil , flora, and fauna in the area due to crop rotation techniques.

While meat production itself has a high environmental impact, eating organic meat means choosing to buy from farms with long-term sustainability in mind: they wrap biodiversity into their business model, and don’t feed their animals antibiotics, growth hormones, or animal byproducts.

Quick tip!
Encouraging organic farming means taking care of your body, sure – but it also means taking care of the environment and biodiversity (bees!), as well as caring for the well-being and health of the farmers that feed us.

4. Keep lunch light by reducing packaging…and your carbon footprint

Make lunch at the office more environmentally friendly by bringing it from home in reusable containers. If leftovers and sandwiches aren’t your bag, try something completely different and delicious out of these 100 easy-to-make lunch ideas .

And instead of bringing bottled water, invest in a filter system for your home to cut down on plastic waste (and give you a good reason to get that cute reusable water bottle you’ve had your eye on!) At work, look into large-scale filtration systems or water delivery that uses local water sources.

Quick tip!
If you don’t have the time or inclination to make lunch, pack empty reusable containers for any leftovers from your mid-day restaurant meal – many restaurants are happy to oblige. You can also ask your favorite restaurants if they’d be willing to switch to sustainable take-out containers , if they haven’t already. 

5. Lighten your energy load at the table

When it comes to food, lowering your energy consumption includes everything from eating less meat to looking at the carbon footprint of food transportation . Urban agriculture companies like Lufa Farms , which grows food in rooftop greenhouses, have built energy efficiency into their mandates. Lufa Farms uses half the heating energy of traditional greenhouses and employs a community pick-up point delivery system to reduce time spent transporting food by truck.

For work events that require an impressive array of appetizers or high-quality meals, source food and supplies from nearby vendors as much as possible. You’ll not only be supporting another local business, but you’ll cut down on transport emissions and be able to talk directly with the caterer or restaurant about where they source their ingredients.

Quick tip!
Don’t overlook the energy-saving – and cost-saving! – potential of small fixes like choosing certified energy-efficient appliances , including refrigerators (typically the highest energy user in a home alongside clothes dryers), stoves, dishwashers, and hot water heaters.