Considering how the food we eat is grown, packaged, and transported is an important aspect of eco-friendly living.
What is food sustainability?
Sustainable agriculture is the cornerstone of sustainable food production. Food cannot be deemed sustainable without consideration for the environmental impact of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, or the cultivation of resources such as soil, water, and land.
How can sustainable farming practices help the environment?
Seasonal growing and use of ditches for irrigation can help conserve water, while maintaining hedgerows between smaller parcels of farmland, and use of organic or regenerative farming methods, will also lessen soil erosion.
Short-term, high-yield farming often involves practices which cause lasting damage to land. This leads to more land clearance to create productive farmland.
The result is a destructive cycle that leaves its mark on the landscape and local biodiversity, encouraging deforestation and erosion, while contributing to human and animal suffering.
What are ‘sustainable’ food sources?
Locally grown vegetables and fruit are more likely to be sustainable due to farming that occurs on a smaller scale, and which uses fewer chemicals and less water.
These foods are also more likely to be seasonal produce. When food is grown in its preferred season, conditions are better suited to the process. This means fewer resources will be required.
In addition, low food mileage means a reduction in transit emissions while encouraging investment in local economies and workers.
Growing your own food in a garden or community space is another possibility. If this is not possible, find or start sustainable swap initiatives where skills such as mending clothes or furniture can be exchanged for fresh produce.
When growing your own, also consider sharing excess produce with friends and neighbours.
How do you know if a supplier is sustainable?
Ask at smaller independent local shops or markets about eco-friendly products and their sustainable credentials. You can research larger manufacturers and brands but be mindful of any elements of greenwashing some corporations use to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.
Individual sustainable choices
Food waste creates demand for land clearance and avoidable slaughter of animals. Resources such as water, needed to produce food, are also indirectly wasted when the food is not consumed.
Check cupboards and fridge space before shopping and only buy the specific ingredients needed for recipes.
Home composting can also help. It makes use of scraps, peelings, or unwanted food in a productive way.
Eat a varied diet
Reducing meat consumption helps cut global emissions, but there is more to be done. Consuming a variety of plants and grains will encourage diversity among food producers.
Biodiversity is vital for supporting different insects and organisms. It also guards against food scarcity, should a single crop be affected by climate, pests, or disease.
The intersection of sustainable and ethical food
There is a clear relationship between food ethics and food sustainability. An example is the way unethical practices in the beef industry affect the environment.
Much of the deforestation of the Amazon is to provide land for grazing and growing feed. Certain types of feed also make cows produce more methane, a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
There are different schools of thought as to whether eating meat can ever be ethical or sustainable. Those who feel it can practise regenerative farming , where grass-fed livestock provide organic waste to replace lost organic matter in soil.
Sustainable meals from start to finish
The way sustainable food is consumed also has an impact on the environment. This is where eco-friendly tableware and biodegradable cutlery can help.
FOOGO green’s completely natural, home compostable plates, bowls and serving trays are made from dried areca palm leaves, using a carbon neutral manufacturing process that saves resources from becoming agricultural waste.
Once the food is eaten, tableware, utensils, and food scraps can be composted together to become natural fertiliser for future sustainable food production.
To see the complete range of compostable tableware we offer, visit our online store.