Food production, packaging, distribution, and waste all take quite a toll on our environment, and many food additives can harm our health.  You can do the earth and your body a great big favor with these simple lifestyle changes:

• Check the PLU (price look-up) codes on fresh produce stickers and bags.  A 4-digit code means the food was conventionally grown but, if it’s a 5-digit code starting with the number 9, the food was grown organically (organic farming uses 30% less energy and NO pesticides or chemical fertilizers).  Side note:  Unfortunately, the code to clearly identify GMO produce is no longer being used.

   

• Reduce or eliminate your meat consumption—the meat industry generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined and is directly linked to extensive rain forest destruction.

   

• Buy locally & seasonally—the average supermarket item travels 1,400 miles to reach your store, wasting energy and creating pollution along the way.

   

• Buy fresh food in small quantities and try not to over-load your plate—Americans waste 48 million tons of food each year (about 163 pounds per person!).

   

• Avoid fast-food restaurants (and all the wasteful packaging & unhealthy food they serve).

   

• Give up microwave popcorn—and any other products that contain diacetyl.

   

• Grow your own produce—even just a dwarf fruit tree on a balcony, tomatoes along the stairs, or herbs in a kitchen window.  It’s better for you and the environment and will taste much better than anything sold in a store!