Sustainable Diet Tips

What is a “Sustainable Diet”?

A sustainable diet promotes various aspects of health and wellness with an emphasis on lowering negative environmental impact to positivity impact future generations.  These diets are affordable, safe, accessible, and take cultural competence into consideration.

· Shop Locally/Seasonally

Go to your local farmers market and buy in-season produce.  This requires less fuel resources to ship and reduces the need for food packaging materials.

· Choose Plant-Bases

Aim to include more plant-based foods into your diet, especially protein sources such as beans, nuts, seeds, soy, and tofu; this helps lower environmental impact.

· Grow Your Own Produce

Homegrown produce can be an enjoyable and delicious hobby and reduces the carbon footprint from buying store-brought produce.  Bonus: no food packaging waste involved!

· Reduce Food Waste

Reducing waste can be simple: buy loose produce to select the exact amount you need, purchase reusable grocery bags, freeze, pickle, can, or dehydrate leftover fruits and veggies.

· Eat More Variety

If possible, eat a variety of plants and animals.  A majority of the world’s food supply comes from 12 plants and 5 animal species (WWF).  Greater diversity among our diets will aid in the reducing the threat to food security.

For more resources on sustainability visit: https://www.epa.gov/sustainability