Green Your Food

Green Your Food

• Buy Locally Grown Foods - Did you know that buying locally grown foods not only strengthens our local economy, but also helps significantly reduce greenhouse gases? How, you might ask? About 19% of all fossil fuel consumption (one of every three trucks on the road) and as much as 37% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to the long-distance industrial food system. It reduces energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from: Petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides; Long-distance transportation; Intensive processing of foods, meats and sugars; and Energy-intensive packaging. Check out this guide that details where to buy locally grown foods in Northeast Ohio.http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/buylocalfood/local-food-guide. You may also wish to visit http://growhio.org
• Buy Organic Foods - Avoiding pesticides is likely good for both your body and the environment. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a public health advocacy organization, lists which non-organic fruits and vegetables have the highest and lowest amounts of pesticides. The EWG gets this pesticide data from the USDA. This guide will help in determining which organic foods purchases do the most to limit your pesticide exposure. More can be seen here: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php
• Join the Community Garden - Bike or walk there and then learn organic gardening practices. Check out our Community Garden section for more details.
• Eat Lower on the Food-Chain - Not only is this healthier for a human diet, but it also is better for our living ecosystems (of which humans are a big part).