Sustainable eating
As yet there is no widespread, agreed definition for ‘sustainable eating’. Sustain, the UK based alliance with around 100 member organisations, promotes better food and farming. They have developed a working definition for the term ‘sustainable food’:
Sustainable food should be produced, processed and traded in ways that:
- Contribute to thriving local economies and sustainable livelihoods – both in the UK and, in the case of imported products, in producer countries;
- Protect the diversity of both plants and animals (and the welfare of farmed and wild species), and avoid damaging natural resources and contributing to climate change;
- Provide social benefits, such as good quality food, safe and healthy products, and educational opportunities.
Part of the mission of Open to Organics is to keep concepts clear and concise for you. At Open to Organics our working definition of sustainable eating is simply that it is a way of choosing and eating foods that benefits the health and well being of the individual, of the community, of the food producer and of the environment, often in a symbiotic relationship.
What does this practically mean?
- Buying local produce,
- Eating foods in season,
- Buying organically or bio-dynamically grown foods,
- Eating more vegetarian meals. Reducing the overall amount of meat and other animal products in your diet and - when you do eat these products - choosing those from sustainable sources,
- Eating more fresh foods and decreasing highly processed foods in your diet, especially those that contain hydrogenated fats,
- Choosing fish and seafood from sustainable sources and avoiding endangered species in accordance with the Australian Marine Conservation Society,
- Purchasing food that carries the Fair trade logo where possible,
- Choosing to buy foods with little to no packaging,
- Cooking and preparing foods with consideration for the amount of energy you are using in the process,
- Reducing the amount of food you waste; using leftovers innovatively,
- Growing some of your own foods,
- Buying foods that are free from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs),
- Choosing filtered tap water rather than buying bottled water.