Food Footprints

You learn something everyday so the saying goes. And in my journey to discover the many ways to reduce and offset my carbon footprint while not spending very much money has led to a new insight. That is, the carbon footprint of foods. Turns out, eating a hamburger a couple of times a week is reason enough to buy carbon credits. Whether locally made or not, food manufacturing has a major impact on the planet.

According to treehugger.com, food is the cause of almost one third of the greenhouse gases we have all grown so concerned about. As the atmosphere heats up, the planet undergoes detrimental change. We must stop or reverse this process to avoid the onset of catastrophic environmental change. Yes, hamburgers can kill polar bears.

See? You learn something new everyday.

It seems cheap fatty heart attack inducing yummy foods have high carbon footprints. If you think about it, fast food is definitely a planet killer. From the excess methane gas released into the atmosphere from the millions of cows needed to produce the burgers to the forests of trees destroyed to make the millions of wrappers and the gallons upon gallons of petrochemicals utilized to drive to the drive thru…well, talk about increasing your carbon footprint on a budget.

It seems the thing to do is buy locally, buy seasonally and avoid red meat as often as possible. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are not naturally meat eaters and a vegetarian diet is better for the planet, our carbon footprint and believe it or not, our physical health.

Treehugger.com suggests eating seasonal fruits, dry beans and potatoes rather than fast food lowers both your food bill and your cholesterol. Baking your own bread, making your own healthy cookies and choosing soy and tofu over cow and pig is an economical step in the right direction.

I can vouch for the yumminess and low emission factor of lentil cookies. And don’t get me started on the obvious delights of bread fresh from the oven. Being green isn’t always the sacrifice some would make it out to be.

Once you realize that everything has a carbon footprint, smarter choices start happening naturally. And food really is an easy one. Stick to natural local foods and avoid over packaged items from far away. Buy in bulk to save on gas and get creative with the contents of the pantry.

Reducing your carbon footprint is a learning process. Take small steps in the right direction and veer past the drive thru and into your own garage. Home made has always been better. Now its environmentally and economically smart.