Eating Green

[krpdreams]

I've heard a little about eating green but I have no idea what that means. Anyone know where I can find out more on it?

[meadowsong]

Hmmmm, not quite sure exactly what it means, but the best way to go green by eating, is to go vegetarian/vegan. It takes less of everything to eat a vegetarian/vegan diet, which is one of the main reasons why I switched myself, not to mention the health benefits.

[NessaL_07]

Im also looking for information and tips on doing this

[katy_mb3]

I think another big component of 'eating green' is eating locally produced food as much as possible. Eating local helps tremendously because you cut out the environmental impacts of shipping food from one end of the country to the other (or one side of the world to the other). A nice benefit of eating local is that you typically can find organic for cheaper than organic in the stores. :thumbsup: Also, locally grown food is usually grown in a more sustainable manner than store-bought, which is another big environmental plus!

Some ways to eat local are:

- farmers markets
- local health food stores (they oftentimes buy from area farmers and producers)
- plant your own veggie garden (we are starting one this spring for the first time. ACC 'cuz we'll need it. I have a brown thumb. :laugh:)
- CSA (consumer supported agriculture). This is where you purchase a 'share' of veggies from a local grower. Each week you pick up a box or veggies - whatever is in season and harvestable at that time. We did that this past summer and it was awesome. Lots of wonderful, yummy produce!! :thumbsup: We paid $350 for 16 wks of organic produce, 1/2 bushel of veggies per week.).

[krpdreams]

I think another big component of 'eating green' is eating locally produced food as much as possible. Eating local helps tremendously because you cut out the environmental impacts of shipping food from one end of the country to the other (or one side of the world to the other). A nice benefit of eating local is that you typically can find organic for cheaper than organic in the stores. :thumbsup: Also, locally grown food is usually grown in a more sustainable manner than store-bought, which is another big environmental plus!

Some ways to eat local are:

- farmers markets
- local health food stores (they oftentimes buy from area farmers and producers)
- plant your own veggie garden (we are starting one this spring for the first time. ACC 'cuz we'll need it. I have a brown thumb. :laugh:)
- CSA (consumer supported agriculture). This is where you purchase a 'share' of veggies from a local grower. Each week you pick up a box or veggies - whatever is in season and harvestable at that time. We did that this past summer and it was awesome. Lots of wonderful, yummy produce!! :thumbsup: We paid $350 for 16 wks of organic produce, 1/2 bushel of veggies per week.).

How do I find these kinds of plaes? I know where farmer's markets can be found but that's only in the summer and the health food store closest to us that I know of is about 1.5 hrs away so how would i find out about these things? thakns

[Dire Wolf]

It has to do with eating organic, buying products in the new compostable packages and buying local wherever possible. Also, avoid any fast food and things like sodas and chips from the big labels. Some people are saying that going vegetarian is a good way to be green but I disagree. I think if you buy free range and organic meats then you are incrasig the demand for healthier animals and thusly making a huge change in how meats effect the environment and economy.
Quite often, www.craigslist.com will help you find the local co-op programs in your area. And if you feel your community can benifit from a health food store, research opening one yourself. A few of my friends from high have done this with great success.:thumbsup:

[meadowsong]

Dire wolf, I disagree w/ you, how funny :) lol. I really do think eating a more plant based diet, helps way more w/ reducing chemical/pesticide use, cuts down on water supply usage, and it much more environmentally friendly. I'll have to see if I can find some of the article I read.

I completly agree on the eating locally though. I think that is probably more important than eating organic. Some organic products are shipped here from overseas, that is not environmentally friendly at all!!

**edited to add** I think between a vegetarian diet and eating locally, that a combo of the 2 would probably be the best way to "eat green". Growing all your own food isn't always possible, going 100% vegetarian isn't always possible, and neither is always only buying locally. I guess a combo of all these things are all really good ways to eat green :)

I did a quick search for "green eating" and found this website. This calculator is kind of fun. I guessed on the low end of things and got a 198.

http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/score.html

[stella072]

Read the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver

[meadowsong]

Read the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver


I've look at this book on amazon and it looks great! I vowed not to buy any more books for the next 6 months though, I have far too many and am trying to cut back my spending. I'll have to check it out at the libary.

[tommymommy]

I did a quick search for "green eating" and found this website. This calculator is kind of fun. I guessed on the low end of things and got a 198.

http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/score.html

D'oh! I took this test and got a 7! How did you get a 198?

ETA: Just saw that you are veg. I think I am headed that way.

[meadowsong]

D'oh! I took this test and got a 7! How did you get a 198?

ETA: Just saw that you are veg. I think I am headed that way.

Did you put in what you eat each day or your average for the week? I did each day first, then realized you needed to put in your weekly average.

[krpdreams]

Dire wolf, I disagree w/ you, how funny :) lol. I really do think eating a more plant based diet, helps way more w/ reducing chemical/pesticide use, cuts down on water supply usage, and it much more environmentally friendly. I'll have to see if I can find some of the article I read.

I completly agree on the eating locally though. I think that is probably more important than eating organic. Some organic products are shipped here from overseas, that is not environmentally friendly at all!!

**edited to add** I think between a vegetarian diet and eating locally, that a combo of the 2 would probably be the best way to "eat green". Growing all your own food isn't always possible, going 100% vegetarian isn't always possible, and neither is always only buying locally. I guess a combo of all these things are all really good ways to eat green :)

I did a quick search for "green eating" and found this website. This calculator is kind of fun. I guessed on the low end of things and got a 198.

http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/score.html

I took the quiz and am ashamed to say I got a -15. I thin kpart of it is also that I estimated on the higher end of things but still not a good number. Now to figure out how to get the number down.

[Dire Wolf]

Dire wolf, I disagree w/ you, how funny :) lol. I really do think eating a more plant based diet, helps way more w/ reducing chemical/pesticide use, cuts down on water supply usage, and it much more environmentally friendly. I'll have to see if I can find some of the article I read.

I completly agree on the eating locally though. I think that is probably more important than eating organic. Some organic products are shipped here from overseas, that is not environmentally friendly at all!!

**edited to add** I think between a vegetarian diet and eating locally, that a combo of the 2 would probably be the best way to "eat green". Growing all your own food isn't always possible, going 100% vegetarian isn't always possible, and neither is always only buying locally. I guess a combo of all these things are all really good ways to eat green :)

I did a quick search for "green eating" and found this website. This calculator is kind of fun. I guessed on the low end of things and got a 198.

http://www.cspinet.org/EatingGreen/score.html

I am not saying that being veg isn't green, it is, I think I didn't state what I meant clearly, sorry.:blush: I was veg for almost 10 years. I am saying that there are alot of people out there that can't go veg, dh and dss are a few and that the best way to decrease the amount of ghg coming form the meat industry is to start insisting for meats that are free range and organic; well fed and healthy cattle produce less ghg and waste. I am not veg bc I think my teeth and hair would fall out if I didn't eat meat.:lostit: No seriously, I have been having protien issues for awhile now, so I have been eating meat to help. And bfing Lily is really taking it out of me, she is a heavy eater.:giggle: I miss being a veg, it was so much cheaper to eat!!

[Dire Wolf]

I got a 187!! I think I may have figured something wrong tho! :lostit:

[meadowsong]

Oh I know, as I think more about it, we agree more than we disagree lol!! I was veg in high school, then when I got pregnant for the first time went back to eating meat. Over the last few years I've cut way back and just again took the veg plunge a few months ago. I do eat some dairy, which I was surprised how much that dropped my score (and I eat maybe 4-6 servings a week).

[Dire Wolf]

Oh, I know, the scoring system was kinsa odd, it counted beef less than fish and fishing has less of a "footprint" than cattle.But it's nice to know that I am at least on a good path. :)

[mommycaitlin]

I've been trying to go green with the family recently and my daughter has actually gotten used to eating a lot of organic and stuff, but we're in such a money crunch right now that i can't afford it. How does everyone afford to eat like this? I buy local when I can, but everything at the organic stores around here is too expensive.

[Dire Wolf]

We don't really do much that costs us money. We have a new and very inexpensive car, I clip coupons, I cd and bf and we thrift store shop for most of our clothes. Dh and ds pack lunch and re-use alot of containers and stuff. I have found that we eat less when we eat organic as it all tastes so much better. My smom used co-ops for along time too. HTH:hugs:

[ifyousaygo]

I think another big component of 'eating green' is eating locally produced food as much as possible. Eating local helps tremendously because you cut out the environmental impacts of shipping food from one end of the country to the other (or one side of the world to the other). A nice benefit of eating local is that you typically can find organic for cheaper than organic in the stores. :thumbsup: Also, locally grown food is usually grown in a more sustainable manner than store-bought, which is another big environmental plus!

Some ways to eat local are:

- farmers markets
- local health food stores (they oftentimes buy from area farmers and producers)
- plant your own veggie garden (we are starting one this spring for the first time. ACC 'cuz we'll need it. I have a brown thumb. :laugh:)
- CSA (consumer supported agriculture). This is where you purchase a 'share' of veggies from a local grower. Each week you pick up a box or veggies - whatever is in season and harvestable at that time. We did that this past summer and it was awesome. Lots of wonderful, yummy produce!! :thumbsup: We paid $350 for 16 wks of organic produce, 1/2 bushel of veggies per week.).

ITA! We are lucky to have a local company called "Organics to You" that delivers organic produce boxes to our doorstep once/week. They try to buy as much as possible from local farms. We spend $30/week on a large fruit box and the price is the same as buying at New Seasons or Whole Foods, only it gets delivered to our door! :mrgreen:
Check out their website at www.organicstoyou.org
They're only in our local area, but if you contact them they may be able to refer you to a similar program in your area.

[val01]

How do I find these kinds of plaes? I know where farmer's markets can be found but that's only in the summer and the health food store closest to us that I know of is about 1.5 hrs away so how would i find out about these things? thakns
www.localharvest.com should help you.

Valerie

[krpdreams]

www.localharvest.com should help you.

Valerie

Thank you so much. I found out that there is one literally just down the road from me in my little bitty town. Right now all they have are dried herbs but the rest of the seasons they have lots of things. I am so excited.

[val01]

Thank you so much. I found out that there is one literally just down the road from me in my little bitty town. Right now all they have are dried herbs but the rest of the seasons they have lots of things. I am so excited.
You're welcome. You can also find farms that sell meat on www.eatwild.com.

I belong to an organic CSA, shop the farmers market, and buy most of our meat locally.

Valerie

[lulusmom]

I didn't see anyone mention eating seasonally. In addition to eating locally and organic, eating veggies and fruits that are in season cost much less to produce and require fewer resources than producing the same produce when it's out of season. :thumbsup: