I bought potatoes in a big jute bag this morning. In retrospect, the greener choice may have been filling up a shopping bag with local potatoes. I am faced with shopping on a tighter budget these days and these seemed like a good value. There are lots of blog posts floating around about how to live green and frugal at the same time. Making greener choices and saving money at the same time can be a bit of a juggling act. The commercial food industry sees green as a value added part of their business. If money was not an issue for me I would be paying the premium for organic food all the time. Put your hand up if money is not an issue.
Here are some suggestions that might help the planet and your bank balance:
Minimize food waste through careful planning and list making. When perishable items do go bad, make a note to buy less the next time. Shopping at markets where you can pick over the produce yourself will reduce the amount of waste that you deal with at home.
Comparison shopping isn’t all about price. Find out which vendors carry local produce. Sometimes a compromise between distance and price is in order. For instance, we buy Sicilian oranges this time of year even though there are local ones available. The distance is just around the 100km mark and they get pretty cheap in the middle of the season.
Plan your meals around seasonal produce. As much as we love strawberries, we are willing to forgo the joy for ten months out of the year to save money and fossil fuels.
You can reduce the amount of pesticides you consume by choosing varieties of produce that are not subjected to as much of it in conventional agriculture. Sadly, potatoes are on the list of 12 foods to avoid if you are worried about pesticides.
Prepare the bulk of your meals at home from scratch.
Eat less meat. If you love meat and you have a handful of tried and true meat heavy meals that you don’t want to give up a good way to accomplish this is to commit yourself to a Meatless Monday. We haven’t done that, but we typically have more than one meatless day. High protein produce is less expensive and better for the environment than meat. During our year in Bizerte, we developed a taste for chickpea sandwiches.
I am not a zealot when it comes to buying ecologically responsible food. Our first priority is to provide a balanced diet for my family. I do make a conscious effort to keep my eye our for ways to do that in ways that are both cheaper and greener.
This post hasn’t had a lot to do with reducing plastic waste. When it comes to food I look for every affordable plastic free option and when there are none I consider whether that item is important enough to compromise. The best example I can think of where I spend extra to avoid plastic packaging is with pasta. Barilla, the BEST PASTA IN THE WORLD, is available in boxes. The less expensive alternatives are in plastic bags.
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