Embrace eco-friendly eating habits
2019-06-11
Take a turn for the better following these sustainable eating tips.
With many major Australian supermarkets and stores eradicating single use plastic bags in 2018, the tide has finally turned and the spotlight is now well and truly on the importance of conscious, mindful and ethical consumption and eating habits.
And rightfully so.
While the official figures vary, we do know that plastic bag usage and disposal has experienced an immense drop as a result, with the overall goal being to improve the state of our overflowing landfills and reign in the dangerous levels of waste now found in our precious oceans. Hundreds of thousands of birds and sea animals are dying each year from plastic bag consumption, with hundreds of millions of these non-biodegradable items floating in their natural, sacred habitats.
Now you have (hopefully) switched altogether to reusable shopping bags, it’s time to broaden your horizons and make other eco-friendly changes to your lifestyle.
The environment will thank you. Your wallet will thank you. And we will thank you.
Take a stand against unnecessary packaging
When you are doing your next shop at your local supermarket or grocery store, take a moment to look around you. Packaging is everywhere - and that packaging has to go somewhere when you are done with it.
A trolley full of purchases will result in a mass of plastic and paper to dispose of within your home, and if you aren’t recycling, it’s ALL going to landfill. Polystyrene packaging is statistically enemy number 1 to the environment, and its production leads to massive amounts of greenhouse gas and hazardous waste.
With that being said, shopping mindfully is a hot topic of discussion nowadays, with consumers opting to purchase products that are made using the least amount of packaging. People are pushing back against unnecessarily pre-packaged fruit and vegetables, and desiring the bare necessities to see them from the store to home. At home, they are repurposing the packaging they do have.
Here’s a great example of the push for less packaging being worth it. Stores in Britain are encouraging customers to bring their own Tupperware to purchase essentials such as pasta, which can now be bought like you used to buy your pick-n-mix at the cinema. That’s progress!
Reduce waste in your home
We recently posted a blog on ways to reduce waste within your household, with crafty, green ways to improve the world from the comfort of your home.
Lowering your own waste levels can make a huge difference, and our blog lists clever ways to do so, including storing food and produce correctly, starting your own compost heap, becoming a master meal prepper and getting experimental with leftovers.
You’ll not only feel like you’ve given back to the environment that gives you so much, but you’ll see a noticeable difference in your stress levels, shopping habits and time management, as well as your funds. It’s win-win.
Recycle, recycle, recycle
You should already be recycling, and if you don’t have a recycling bin at your property, contact your nearest council to organise delivery of one. It may not feel like you are doing much on a grand scale when you are sorting your recyclables, but you truly are.
Recycling has a myriad of environmental benefits, such as reducing pollution, lowering energy usage, reducing landfill and conserving animals natural habitats. Australians should be proud, as we are the world leaders in paper and cardboard recycling, but our plastic recycling stats still have a way to go.
Waster.com.au has a terrific list of what you can and can’t recycle, and is an informative online resource for more information on how to do your bit.
Meatless Mondays (and Tuesdays, Wednesdays….)
Few things have the impact on the environment that industrial meat farming does, and consumers and meat lovers alike are starting to sit up and pay attention to this crisis.
Producing, processing and distributing meat requires massive amounts of pesticides, animal feed, fuel and water, and the meat industry is single-handedly responsible for immeasurable amounts of greenhouse gas emissions across the globe.
The rise of #meatlessmondays across social media has drawn much-needed attention to the environmental dangers of animal agriculture. While some meat fanatics can only bear to go without their favourite cuts one day a week, if you can manage to do more than that, you will know that you’re aligning yourself with a worthy cause.
These eco-friendly shopping and eating habits are just a few of a very long list of ways you can be more mindful and ethical as a consumer, both in the store and at home. Check back in regularly to the La Española food blog for more tips on how you too can join the environmental revolution.
