Food is pretty awesome stuff. I love it. You love it. Our dogs and cats enjoy it, as well. Food is an important part of our daily lives – we have to eat it to stay alive, but it’s also a major source of pleasure. From salads and sandwiches to hamburgers and hotdogs to duck foie gras or Italian truffles… who doesn’t savor the thought of digging into a plate of hot (or cold), delicious goodness?
Of course, we don’t grow our food in our backyards for the most part – not anymore at least. These days, food production and transportation doesn’t happen without a lot of energy and a cost to the environment. Not as simple as it used to be.
In the past, the food we eat would have been cultivated just outside of town. It would have been harvested by hand and grown organically…at no extra cost…at the peak of freshness! Today, the average food item travels over 1,500 miles before it gets to our mouths, and that is only the last leg of foods fuel-powered journey. Take a moment to consider the relationship – the “love affair” - between food and the fuel and energy that is used in the production and transportation process:
- Tilling
Turning over the soil to prepare for planting, weed disruption, etc. Typically done with a tractor.
- Planting
A massive machine is used to drop seeds into fields, burning five gallons of fuel for every acre planted.
- Spraying Pesticide or Herbicide (also the work of huge machines or airplanes)
- Harvesting
Once again, the massive machine makes its way up and down the rows of the growing fields to collect the matured produce
- Processing
Includes everything from sorting, washing and packaging produce, to converting it from a whole food to a “food like substance” - this is a highly material and energy intensive process on both the food and packaging side of the equation.
- Shipping
Two to three separate journeys mostly semi trucks but also planes, boats, or trains - Retail
Finally, the food has arrived and you can eat it.
Wow. That’s a lot of energy. On the upside, there’s a better way. Here are a few tips to start eating green:
- Farmers markets are an excellent place to get your hands on delicious, natural foods, and to get connected with local farmers.
- Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSA) are available in many cities. CSAs allow you to invest in/buy a share of local farms’ harvests in the spring, so you can then receive a weekly box overflowing with seasonal bounty once the goods are ready to be eaten.
- Support small farms however you can. They frequently use people instead of machines, and that can help keep the food footprint incredibly low
- Processed foods – avoid them.
- Avoid packaging whenever possible; check for items in the bulk isle before going to the packaged products.
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