eat green

hello friends!

Going back to last weeks Consumption Atlas from the ACF website, you'll remember that SA number 2 contributor to greenhouse gas pollution is food!

So what can we do to make a difference?

(apologies now for using the ACF as my primary source for info again but it's just such a great website!)

ACF gives 5 top tips for eating green

1.Reduce Animal Products (This doesn't mean you have to become a vego!) "GREENHOME FACT: If you reduced your dairy intake by just 2 cups of milk (or equivalent) per week, you would save 13,000 litres of water and 250kg of greenhouse pollution in a year" www.acf.org.au

2.Choose unprocessed or unrefined foods. The more processed a food is, the more water and energy has gone into making it. So things like packet chips and wrapped lollies. go for fresh vegies instead of frozen etc.

3. Eat what you buy, don't waste it
This is how much we as a nation threw away in 2004
■ $2.9 billion worth of fresh food
■ $630 million worth of uneaten take-away food
■ $876 million in leftovers
■ $596 million of unfinished drinks and
■ $241 million of frozen food.

4. Choose organic foods

5. Buy locally
Check out these farmers markets

For meat, go to your local butcher and ask where they get their meat from and weather it is grain or grass fed. Grain fed animals use a LOT more water and energy to be fed, so if possible buy grass fed.

go here to find out more on the top five tips for eating green

So based on these five tips I'm going to list 5 things that I am going to do in order to help reduce the greenhouse gases I produce from food.

1. Instead of eating cereal with milk everyday for breakfast, I'm going to alternate with toast or something that doesn't include milk.

2. I'm in the process of starting a veggie garden at our house. (As soon as Dad has time to give me a hand :))

3. We are also getting a compost bin, so that we don't throw our waste away and so it can help our new veggie garden.

4. I'm going to change the cereal that I eat (Uncle Toby's) to an organic Muesli.

5. We actually already buy our meat from local sources (it also helps that we get our lamb from the sheep off of our farm). But we also aim to buy products with the Australian label.

So if you have decided that you want to change some of the things you eat to be a little bit greener, post a comment about what you will change. I challenge you to make 5, but seeing as the title of this blog is 'just one thing' i understand if it's just one. It still makes a difference.

Carly