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Food for Thought
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Food for thought
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We all know that food is essential for life but we may not be fully
aware that the food choices we make every day can make a difference to
the wider environment.
A balanced and healthy diet, combined with regular exercise, is
important for our health but we can also improve the health of the
planet, and thereby be more sustainable, by being careful about our
food purchases.
If at all possible we should not waste food. In Ireland one third of
all food is wasted and for some foods, such as salad leaves, the
wastage is up to 50%. Waste food is a wasted resource, is difficult to
handle and creates problems at disposal sites through odours, landfill
gas and water polluting leachate. By carefully planning our food
needs for the days ahead when we shop and by carefully estimating food
quantities when we cook we can eliminate much of this waste. Try not
to shop while hungry and store the food carefully when you get home to
avoid wastage. Avoiding such waste can save the average household up
to €1,000 in a year.
Next in importance is the choice of food we make when we shop. Here
the concept of ‘food miles’ (the distance the food has travelled) comes
into focus. Buying locally produced food that is in season and
avoiding food that has been transported over long distances minimises
the effect on the environment.
When we shop we should also avoid food with excessive packaging. Some
packaging is essential to protect public health but many products such
as fruit and vegetables can be transported safely with minimum
packaging. Almost all packaging ends up as waste and, while the
overall recycling rate for packaging in Ireland is good at 65%, the
rate for some material such as aluminium and plastic is poor with three
out of every four such packs being sent to landfill. Avoiding the
packaging altogether when we shop is the simplest solution to this
problem, but if we can’t avoid it then we should clean the packaging
and recycle in our green bins.
On the producer side, organically grown food, without the use of
herbicides or pesticides, is best for the environment but it tends to
be more expensive than food produced by conventional agriculture. If
you can afford it then buy directly from the producer at farmers’
markets but if that is beyond your budget you can find quality
Irish-produced food in the supermarket. |
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