Be A Better Grocery Shopper - Green In Your Cart And Some Left In Your Wallet
Written by Erin Patterson - Friday, 12 December 2008
|
207
(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5)
 Have you ever considered what impact the stuff in your cupboards and your grocery cart has on the environment? It’s more than the eternal question of “paper or plastic?”. This piece will help you to be a better shopper with the earth and your health in mind.
Best places to shop green.
First and foremost, always “shop sustainably”. What does shopping sustainably mean? Well, it is purchasing local, seasonal ingredients, and products produced locally. Understand where these ingredients came from and thinking of each ingredient in terms of “food miles” (how far did the food travel to reach you, what impact did that transportation have on the environment, etc.) before you add it to your basket. If it has a lot of mileage, you should reconsider and choose an alternative if at all possible. Choosing sustainable products is not just good for Mother Earth, but for your local economy and community, too. Sustainable shopping and sustainable living demonstrates ecological, environmental, economic, social, and political responsibility.
Farmers’ markets and CSAs (community supported agriculture) are by far the greenest ways you can shop for your weekly groceries. Farmers’ markets are typically ideal places to find local and organic fruits and vegetables. By buying locally at your farmers’ market, you cut down fuel use and resources, as most produce sold in grocery stores is transported miles and miles away from where it was produced. CSAs are another gem for green and organic groceries. If you are unfamiliar with CSAs, they are groups who purchase (and sometimes grow their own) vegetables, fruits, and sometimes eggs and meats directly from local organic farms. The produce, eggs, and meat are then delivered to drop-off locations centrally located in nearby cities. CSAs allow even city-dwellers in urban areas to have fresh organic produce sourced from local farmers.
 Shopping Organic.
It is important to buy organic whenever possible. Here are just a few reasons that might persuade you. Organic meats and produce are grown without pesticides and chemicals that are harmful to our environment (and our bodies). Organic production is also kinder to animals. Organic farming is also better for the soil. Organic food can help fight cancer, stroke, and heart problems. Organic farming can help protect the earth from climate change because organically managed fields produce more organic Carbon and storing more carbon in the soil helps to stop global warming. Organic foods are safer for you to eat and often more flavorful because they were not exposed to pesticides and chemicals. They also contain more nutrients than non-organic foods. Need I say more to help you make up your mind? (Nudge, nudge.)
If you have never shopped organic before or never frequented a CSA or farmers’ market, switching to organic foods could be a bit overwhelming. But, rest assured there are tactics for getting started greening up your grocery shopping.
Begin your organic adventure by prioritizing your grocery list. Start by buying organic versions of the staples, like:
- Carbs, e.g., oatmeal, sourdough bread, potatoes, brown rice, etc.
- Proteins, e.g., chicken, deli/lunch meats, and eggs, etc.
- Beverages, e.g., freshly squeezed fruit juices, herbal teas, sparkling water, etc.
- Fats, e.g., butter (avoid margarine—it’s not natural), coconut oil, olive oil, etc.
- Dairy products, e.g., plain yogurt, cheeses, cream, etc.
Try to buy organic where it counts. For example, chicken and pork are usually produced in complete confinement, so it is worth it to pay extra for the organic meats. If you are trying to keep costs down –as so many of us are in this economy- meats like beef and lamb are raised at least partially at pasture so they are an OK choice for the organic-budget-conscious-consumer.
As you are choosing your fruits and veggies, particularly if you cannot buy organic for whatever reason, keep in mind which fruits and veggies are grown with the least amount of pesticides. Avocados, pineapples, mangoes, kiwis, bananas, papayas, onions, sweet corn, sweet peas, asparagus, cabbage and broccoli are grown with the least amount of pesticides. However, peaches, apples, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, imported grapes, pears, sweet bell peppers, celery, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, and carrots are grown with the most pesticides.
When the farmers’ market or CSA aren’t options.
While your local farmer’s market or CSA are the ideal options to score your weekly provisions, it’s not necessarily realistic to think that you can shop there year-round. After all, these types of places are hard to come by in the winter time.
That said, here are some tips for strategic and green shopping at your local grocery store:
- Choose products that have the least amount of packaging possible. For example, buy items (with the exception of meat because it can be environmentally expensive to produce) in large quantities. This is especially easy and convenient to do at warehouse clubs like Costco. Resist the temptation to stash your produce in the baggies the stores put out for you. Veggies and fruits are encased in their own packaging and do not need to “protected” by a plastic bag that will most likely end up in the landfill (obviously small items like green beans or berries need to be bagged so you don’t lose them all over your cart). Buy items contained in recycled packaging. And always recycle as much of the packaging from your purchases as you can. When you can, choose items packaged in glass or paper, as it is more likely to be fully recyclable than plastic (which is made with petroleum, a nonrenewable resource).
- Shop the perimeter. This has been the traditional adage for people trying to eat and shop healthier by choosing fresh foods. Avoid anything in a box. Just be watchful and choosey. Supermarkets are aware of this technique and are placing their products to get around it. Be a savvy shopper and choose whole foods with the least packaging possible.
- You can still shop sustainably at a big box supermarket. Pay close attention to where the items in your cart were produced. Do your best to buy locally produced and distributed food. For example, I live in Michigan so I choose Michigan wines like St. Julian, Faygo pop (I know, I know pop is not exactly nutritious), Kars Nuts, Better Maid potato chips (they are for my husband!), onions from Hudsonville, MI, berries from PawPaw, MI, and Chuck & Dave’s salsa from Ferndale, MI.
- As always, avoid making multiple trips to the store when you can. Plan ahead, keep a list, and don’t drive out of your way to hit the grocery store. In fact, if you can, walk or bike to the store to save gas altogether.
- BYOB….. Bags, that is. Tote your own reusable grocery bags or paper bags with you to the store to avoid generating more waste, particularly plastic bags. Recycle and reuse all disposable grocery bags.
- As was stated, do your best to choose organic products or at least fruits and veggies produced with the least amount of pesticides possible.
Making smart choices from transportation to what to toss in your basket to how to tote it home will help reduce the environmental impact of your weekly grocery shopping trip.
Here are some of the greener grocery stores to help you choose where to shop: Whole Foods, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s, Hannaford, Albertsons, Foodlion’s Bloom stores, Publix, Pathmark, and Super Target.
Keeping a little green in your wallet, too.
You’re probably thinking, yeah, buying organic and shopping at the farmers’ market or CSA is better for the environment and my health, but it’s also more expensive and times are tough.
 Rest assured, you can put the green in your cart and also leave a little in your wallet:
- Reduce the amount of meat you eat. Meat (animal agriculture) is one of the worst offenders for greenhouse gas emissions. Swapping out plant-based protein sources for meat is cheaper and easier on the environment. You can also choose cheaper cuts of meat, like shoulders, flank steaks, or round roasts. They are sometimes tougher, but taste delicious when braised, stewed, or slow-cooked.
- Take five to check out the weekly circular for your neighborhood stores. Let it guide what you buy for that particular week. Make your list and just buy what you need for that week to avoid produce and meats going bad before you can enjoy them at their freshest.
- Buy and cook in bulk and freeze the leftovers for meals later. Warehouse stores are particularly good sources for bulk foods—just watch the packaging, as it is sometimes excessive.
- Eat seasonally. Seasonal produce will be cheaper than produce that is out of season and was shipped from a faraway place (no doubt adding many “food miles” to its cost). A quick Google search can tell you what is in season for where you live. You can even grow your own produce to put even more money back in your pocket.
Green coffee.
Green coffee? Huh? Don’t most people prefer it black or with cream and sugar? Yup, coffee can be green. Behind oil, coffee is the second largest US import! That is a lot of beans. But how were they grown? Where were they grown? Were they grown sustainably?
Those are a lot of questions. Here are some answers to help you choose coffee grown sustainably.
- Bird-friendly certification indicates that the coffee was grown under the most stringent environmental standards of any of the certification systems for farming and coffee.
- Organic certification is a strong indicator that most chemicals have been either reduced or eliminated.
- The Rainforest Alliance has environmental criteria, but large coffee commodity providers often display the seal when only a fraction of the packaged coffee are certified beans.
- Pay close attention to the country of origin for the coffee beans. Select coffee grown in countries that practice shade growing to preserve biodiversity and native forests and vegetation. These countries include: El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Papua New Guinea. Avoid coffees from Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam because they most often grow coffee in deforested full sun farms.
- Choose Coffee Arabica or Arabica Coffee over Coffee Canephora or Robusta coffee. Coffee grown from Arabica beans is high quality, unlike the Coffee Canephora or Robusta coffee grown in deforested full sun farms with lots of chemicals.
- Whenever you can, purchase your coffee from a small, specialty roaster. A roaster who is particularly good maintains relationships with farms and co-ops who grow their coffee. The roaster will know how the coffee is grown and if it was grown sustainably.
- Remember, you get what you pay for. Cheap coffee is not sustainable. It is still cheaper than a bottle of wine. It is definitely cheaper than your daily latte habit.
As you can see, there are a number of ways and options for grocery shopping green and sustainably. With a little planning, you can even give your bank account a break while being an earth-friendly shopper. Consider these tips the next time you head to the store, the farmers’ market, or the CSA and you will be a sustainable shopper!
|
More articles by Erin Patterson
|
|
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed