Your Carbon Footprint Reduction Makes Earth Healthier
What if eating healthier and getting more of the vital nutrition you need could also help reduce your carbon footprint and play a part in making the earth a healthier and more sustainable place?
With climate change and resource extraction being such hot-button issues there are many people who want to know what they can do to help. One way of doing so is to turn towards more sustainable eating patterns, with some research suggesting that doing so could help slash greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70% over time.
You can’t chance the future of the earth on your own, but you can make nutritional decisions that make you a healthier person while also helping the global fight against climate change in your own way.
Here are some ideas to help:
No More Plastic
This one is an easy change to make that works on multiple levels. Goods packaged in boxes, styrofoam, and plastic are usually full of preservatives and chemicals. Instead of buying these items, go for fresh produce that is full of the vital nutrients you need to live a better life. Beyond that, don’t be tempted to put your groceries inside the plastic bags or wrap provided by the store and don’t use the single use grocery bags. Instead, use your own bags and feel good about what you walk out of the store with.
Eat Less Meat
This is another simple change that you might be shocked to learn would contribute to a serious decline in greenhouse gas emissions if everyone followed a more vegetarian or vegan friendly lifestyle. This is because the emissions from beef and dairy cattle specifically – and livestock production in general – represents about 14.5% of global human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. While taking all meat out of a diet might now be possible, limiting yourself to one meat based meal a day is something that everyone could try.
Grow Your Own Food
For centuries, humans have grown their own food in their back yards, fields or allotments. This is something we have moved away from over time with our city or suburb based lives to the point that it is now rare to see a working adult with a vegetable patch that they cultivate and use. Growing your own fruit and vegetables obviously reduces your need to plastic and other carbon footprint altering materials. Along with the vital nutrients you are guaranteed from your own produce, having a garden to tend to also helps reduce stress and promotes an improved state of emotional well being.
Buy Local
This is an extension of the growing-your-own-food concept but on a larger scale. Local food is less damaging on the environment because it is much easier to transport food on a local level. More than that, local food tends to be seasonal. This is important because food grown out of season – mass produced for a national market – takes a much higher toll on the environment. The added benefit here is that money stays in the local economy and you will learn to love foods native to where you live.
Article by Vital Guidance
