Reducing Use of Processed Foods
It is truly amazing how little of the food we eat we actually prepare from scratch. Here's an example:
My family makes our own spaghetti sauce. It's cheaper, we like the taste better than the store bought and is supposed to be better for us. BUT - we buy the cans of tomatoes, sauce and paste; we buy the cheeses and the spices. What did we just make on our own?
Yes, it's cheaper for us and yes, we like the taste better. But is it better for us or the environment? Each can of tomatoes is lined with chemicals to help "improve and maintain freshness". One of these chemicals is BPA. Chemicals are also added to help "maintain color and flavor". Huge amounts of salt are added, and salt is now being linked to memory problems as well as the hypertension issues. The cheeses are processed and shipped from hundreds of miles away, as are the spices. These are usually shipped in plastic, which is known to outgas at room temperature.
Energy may or may not be saved by making spaghetti sauce this way, compared to buying individual jars of processed sauce. I do know the number of chemicals we consume is decreased substantially. Just look at the labels of your favorite sauces to see what has been added compared to mixing it up yourself. Each year I am growing more tomatoes to can and use, rather than buying them, but I'm still not able to grow a full year's supply. I'm getting there.
While I don't expect most people to look as closely as I do at what we make, what we eat, how we eat it, or how we buy it, I do hope you *will* look.
Changes are simple. Drink 1 less soda per week. Eat 1 less candy bar. Eat out 1 fewer times per week. Cook a meal rather than eating a heat and serve TV dinner. Grill your own burgers rather than driving down to the local burger bar. Make soup out of left overs instead of opening a can and dumping it in a sauce pan.
Here are some facts for you to think about when you go shopping or go out to eat:
Overall, food—and all the energy it takes to grow, process, transport and prepare it—is responsible for 1/3 of all global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Pew Center.
The average restaurant in the US uses 38 kWh of electricity and 111 cubic feet of natural gas per square foot of space per year.
Here in the US, for every 10 calories spent to grow/produce our food, we get 1 calorie in return.
Calculate your diet's carbon footprint. Eat Low Carbon
My family makes our own spaghetti sauce. It's cheaper, we like the taste better than the store bought and is supposed to be better for us. BUT - we buy the cans of tomatoes, sauce and paste; we buy the cheeses and the spices. What did we just make on our own?
Yes, it's cheaper for us and yes, we like the taste better. But is it better for us or the environment? Each can of tomatoes is lined with chemicals to help "improve and maintain freshness". One of these chemicals is BPA. Chemicals are also added to help "maintain color and flavor". Huge amounts of salt are added, and salt is now being linked to memory problems as well as the hypertension issues. The cheeses are processed and shipped from hundreds of miles away, as are the spices. These are usually shipped in plastic, which is known to outgas at room temperature.
Energy may or may not be saved by making spaghetti sauce this way, compared to buying individual jars of processed sauce. I do know the number of chemicals we consume is decreased substantially. Just look at the labels of your favorite sauces to see what has been added compared to mixing it up yourself. Each year I am growing more tomatoes to can and use, rather than buying them, but I'm still not able to grow a full year's supply. I'm getting there.
While I don't expect most people to look as closely as I do at what we make, what we eat, how we eat it, or how we buy it, I do hope you *will* look.
Changes are simple. Drink 1 less soda per week. Eat 1 less candy bar. Eat out 1 fewer times per week. Cook a meal rather than eating a heat and serve TV dinner. Grill your own burgers rather than driving down to the local burger bar. Make soup out of left overs instead of opening a can and dumping it in a sauce pan.
Here are some facts for you to think about when you go shopping or go out to eat:
Overall, food—and all the energy it takes to grow, process, transport and prepare it—is responsible for 1/3 of all global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Pew Center.
The average restaurant in the US uses 38 kWh of electricity and 111 cubic feet of natural gas per square foot of space per year.
Here in the US, for every 10 calories spent to grow/produce our food, we get 1 calorie in return.
Calculate your diet's carbon footprint. Eat Low Carbon
posted by Leslie at
10:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home