Food and Drink

Have your Green and Eat it too!

Eating Locally | Drink Responsibly | Mind Your Meat | Go Vegetarian | Be Ocean-Friendly

Eating Locally

Eating locally grown food is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and support your local economy. And chances are, your local farm doesn't use pounds of pesticides or antibiotics.

Eliminate the guesswork by participating in community-supported agriculture. Here's how it works: Buy shares in a participating farm near you, then have fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables delivered to you each week from the season's harvests.
If you like choosing your own produce, buy seasonally from your local farmer's market. For a guide to what's fresh in your state, plus links to recipes and shopping guides, check out Epicurious's Peak-Season Interactive Map.
Find purveyors of sustainably produced meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs in your area at eatwellguide.org.

Drink Responsibly

Use the results of SIERRA magazine’s taste tests to help you find tasty, ecofriendly wine and beer.
Mix liquor with organic juice and fruit. Check out what's seasonal in your region, and adjust drink recipes to make the most of local ingredients.
The next time you're craving a brew, ask what's on tap. Beer from a keg has a lighter impact than beer in bottles or cans.
Buy locally. If you live on the East Coast, you're better off buying wine from France or from local vineyards. According to the American Association of Wine Economists, transporting vino by sea is less carbon-intensive than driving it long distances. So depending on where you live, even varietals from Australia and Chile can be sipped without guilt.

Mind Your Meat

Livestock create a beefy portion of all greenhouse-gas emissions: 18 percent, according to the United Nations. Eating a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for lunch instead of a burger saves as much as 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide, 280 gallons of water, and 50 square feet of land, according to the PB&J Campaign.

Substitute plant-based proteins for meat one meal a day. Nuts such as peanuts and almonds are great sources. Quinoa, a South American grain, contains all five essential amino acids. Beans and bean products, like tofu and tempeh, are also great substitutes for animal proteins.
Meat is the traditional choice for summer grilling, but organic, locally grown fruits and veggies are by far the greener option. Try a fruit kabob or a grilled Portobello mushroom. Tasty imitation-meat products are plentiful these days, so even if you're not completely vegan, like Oprah Winfrey was for 21 days, you might share her love of veggie sausages.
Not into plants? You can still reduce your carbon footprint by eating chicken or fish rather than beef. Smaller animals consume fewer resources than larger animals.
Know that beef certified by the American Grassfed Association is free of antibiotics, and the cows spent most of their lives in the pasture (as opposed to in inhumane, cramped conditions). The Animal Welfare Approved label is exclusive to family farms at which cows receive adequate pasture time, and where antibiotic use is limited to sick animals.

Go Vegetarian (at least some of the time)

Ready to go meatless? Most recipe sites list vegetarian menu options; there are entire websites devoted to vegetarian cooking too, such as www.vegcooking.com
Go vegan for a week: Dairy cows a major contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions. So try cutting out meat and dairy. Check out www.vegweb.com for tips about how to move toward a vegan lifestyle.
Host a vegetarian potluck: It’s a great way to get your friends together to share recipes for your new meat-free lifestyle. You might be surprised at how creative your friends can be with a new cooking challenge!

Be Ocean-Friendly

The global fishing fleet is currently 2.5 times larger than what the oceans can sustainably support, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Protect the ocean's diversity by only eating sustainably caught fish. Check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch site to find out which fish are safe to eat.
When you're out, you can make sustainable seafood choices by texting the Blue Ocean Institutes's Fish Phone. Simply text the word "FISH" and the name of the fish to 30644, and you'll receive a message back informing you whether the fish is safe to order.
If you are pregnant or a parent with small children, reduce your mercury intake. Take the Sierra Club's quiz about mercury, then get a handy guide that you can print to carry with you.