By Kris Reid
Everyone is talking about sustainability these days.
It seems we are all subjected to messages of living “greener” through reading, watching and listening to more stories, messages, and marketing of how to “Go Green”. Increasingly people are recycling, bringing their own bags to the market, and also becoming more concerned of their carbon foot print. This shift has been in progress for many years, picking up momentum in the past decade. These changes are now becoming more than trends, they are slowly becoming the standard by which we live, as we collectively commit to changing our ways of thinking especially when considering our level of consumption.
While many of us are paying more attention to our consumption of energy, especially fossil fuels, few consider the impact that our food system has or how dependent that single system alone is on a non-renewable resource. In the United States, 400 gallons of oil equivalents are expended annually to feed each American (Kindell). This is figured not only in the transportation of the food, which most travels 1500 miles from its origin to a diner’s plate, but also in farm inputs like mechanized labor and fertilizers.
To avoid “eating oil”, one must learn to shop and cook sustainably. Here are 5 tips to not just feed your family, but your lifestyle as you move towards sustainability. Our Earth and children thank you!
Tip #1
Buy Local – It’s shopping day and you do what you always do- head to the grocery store. But before you do that, head to a farmers market. There are plenty and some weekday markets now. The Cramerton Farmers Market is hopping on Wednesdays from 4:00pm-8:00pm, Gastonia is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00am-1:00pm and if you are in Charlotte check out the Atherton Mills Market on Tuesdays from 11:30am-6:30pm. Saturday markets are plentiful. Check out Localharvest.org, and type in your zip code for a list of farms and farmers markets in your area.
Tip #2
Buy Organic – Of course you won’t find everything you need at a farmers market, so when you do head to the grocery store by organic, especially when it comes to the Dirty Dozen (the most pesticide ridden foods). Those would be peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes. You know those little stickers on the produce you buy at the market? The numbers mean something. Make sure your produce stickers are a five-digit number beginning with a 9. That means they are organically grown. Avoid sticker numbers that being with an 8. This indicates the produce is genetically modified, and these foods are especially damaging to our environment.
Tip #3
Eat free range, grass fed, organic animal proteins – It is now well documented that free range, grass fed animals are better for you and better for the environment. Grass fed beef has less saturated fat and cholesterol and boast up to 6 times more omega-3 fatty acids compared to conventionally raised beef. Chickens that are pasture raised lay eggs that have 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E and 7 times more beta carotene .
Tip #4
Recipes are not sustainable, don’t use them unless you are baking – Ever take out a recipe book, make a shopping list, bring all the ingredients home to cook a meal that leaves you with left over spices and condiments that then sit in your pantry or take up room in your refrigerator until they go bad? This is a waste of money and resources. Focus on learning cooking techniques like, sautéing, braising, stewing, grilling and roasting. Arm yourself with a pantry of flavor profiles you like. I stock a few vinegars, oils, 5 or 6 spices, aromatics such as onions and garlic, as well as a quality mayonnaise, organic boxed stocks, mustard and soy sauce.
Tip #5
Learn how to and start composting - Thousands of pound of vegetable scraps enter our waste stream every day. These scraps can easily be turned into health compost for your garden and flower beds. Go to howtocompost.org for more information.
About Kris
Kris Reid, is the Chef/Owner of K.Leigh Cuisine, a catering and consulting business in Belmont, NC. She is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University. In addition to her business she is currently a volunteer greenhouse and garden space manager for Hope Haven, a non-profit in Charlotte, where she is helping grow food to feed the resident community of 200 men, women and children. Her motto- “Don’t eat low fat or low cal- just eat food, real food from farmers you know”
You can contact Kris at
kleighreid@yahoo.com or through her website at http://www.kleighcuisine.com
References
Constraints on the Expansion of Global Food Supply, Kindell, Henry H. and Pimentel, David. Ambio Vol. 23 No. 3, May 1994. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
