My perspective is changing as I attempt to “go green.” I don’t like to say that I’m on a “diet” (nobody likes to go on a “diet!”), but I don’t know what else to call it. I’m on an “energy diet.” In order to lose weight we must monitor how many calories we consume. We have to measure our consumption to reduce our carbon footprint, too. “Reduce, re-use, recycle.” That’s my mantra (I didn’t think that up all by myself).
I’m concentrating on my grocery shopping at the moment. It took me awhile to catch on to the fact that everything that we purchase has a cost to the environment. It all adds up: the milk we drink for breakfast, the plastic jug that contains it, the plastic bag that brought it home. Every one of those things has a negative impact on the planet because of the greenhouse gasses that producing them releases.
I hear what y’all are thinking. “The milk? That’s udderly ridiculous!”
It’s true!
Darn tootin’ it’s true… literally! Those cows, and other livestock, produce methane gasses and more CO2 emissions than our transportation methods. Stop worrying about the cars and worry about the cows! Ruminants, such as cows, sheep and goats are responsible for more than 1/3 of methane emissions (which are 20 times more powerful at trapping solar energy than carbon dioxide).
Scientists have discovered that feeding cattle the omega 3 fatty acids in fish oils not only makes the cows more healthy, but significantly reduces those emissions. Not just in the cows, but in us!
Now, it makes sense to cut back on our consumption of meats (except for bacon, of course) just from a health standpoint –– but it is also good for the environment and your pocketbook! My first change in my shopping habits began in the Meat Department.
We no longer “feature” meat at a meal. Years ago, our plates were covered with a huge slab of beef with a tablespoon or two of vegetables on the side. That’s just the way that Texans ate in the days when I was younger. Now, I use meat in casseroles, stir fry meals, or serve us the proper serving (about the size of a deck of cards). It’s helping with my grocery bill, my weight, and I have the satisfaction of knowing that I’m helping the environment as well. There is no “nice” way to say it.
In the Produce Section of the store, I’m changing habits as well. I’d love to buy only organic vegetables, but sometimes the cost is astronomical. Also, some of that organic produce is trucked to Texas from California. Which is more harmful — the chemicals or the gasoline emissions? I have no clue.
My solution is to buy organic produce that is in season and locally grown. If I can’t find it at the grocery store, I go to the Farmer’s Market during summer months and pray that the farmer didn’t douse the produce with pesticides. Last summer I tried growing some of my own vegetables, but the drought and the bunny rabbits did a number on me. I just will have to depend on my farmers.
Throughout the rest of the store, I’m concentrating on packaging. I’m learning to “pre-cycle,” or think about my purchases before I buy something. Although we have recycled for years, our city’s collection service doesn’t take the thin plastics. I’m searching for products with less packaging (when I can find it). The packaging on paper towels astounded me, so now I am working toward a paperless kitchen.
I also make every attempt to remember to carry my cloth bags with me to the store. I write “grocery bags” at the top of every grocery list. I also keep one cloth bag stashed right by my car seat, so that I can’t miss seeing it when I get out of the car. And, I have bags that fit into my purse. The plastic bags that I have brought home are getting turned into a craft project: I’m crocheting plastic bags to make a grocery bag!
If I had grandchildren, I’d recycle those plastic milk jugs I talked about to make them an igloo! It would be a much tinier igloo, because we don’t drink that much milk.
These changes might seem like baby steps, and they are. I just keep reminding myself that every little bit counts.
What suggestions do you have to help save the planet when we go to the grocery store?
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It might be worth mentioning that one way to be greener is to be thriftier. In general laundry and dishwasher products work quite well using about half the recommended amounts (unless you are washing the socks of teenaged boys). Air drying in sunlight works as well or better than bleach, is free and has no packaging. If you squeegee and dry off the inside of your shower every time you almost never have to use any cleaning products at all. Every chemical you use in the home goes back to the watershed. I live on the earth and I do use resources, but I try not to be wasteful.
Absolutely it is worth mentioning, Ellen. There are sooo many things we can do (some of them seem tiny & inconsequential) that all add up to a smaller carbon footprint. Thanks for adding your two cents
I love what you’re doing; things that will have cataclysmic positive effects on humans, the economy and the planet if we follow your example. A few specific comments, if I may:
1. Let’s call a spade a spade. Forget dieting, short-term change hoping for a big result from an unsustainable effort ending in frustration. Call it change. Change for economics, efficiency, the environment. Change to live longer and feel better, inside and out. Change as example. You already are living green.
2. Don’t count calories. Buy real food. Cook three meals instead of buying quick junk and snacks of packaged food products. Eat more slowly and stop when you’re full. Feel a little hunger, a message from your body. Listen and let it work for you. Begin and end every day with fresh fruit (and comedy). You know when your clothes fit better, you’re driving less and walking more, eating less meat, using less packaging, more aware. Measuring, counting, fretting; it’s all too stressful! Use your energy wisely; make a tote bag for someone. Good becomes an integral part of your life because you want it to.
3. Local farmers may not be Certified Organic even though they may be farming organically. Certification takes 3+ years after beginning organic methods. Exploiting plants’ inherent pest-inhibiting qualities remove the need for pesticides. Soils rich in organic nutrients don’t need chemical fertilizers like conventional farms that ultimately sterilize the soil. Talk to your locals about their farming methods. That’s one of the benefits of buying locally: you can know where your food comes from and how it’s grown just by asking.
Rock on, Shelly! (Sorry for going on, but I’m more than a little impassioned about this stuff.)
.-= Joy´s last blog ..POPCORN UPDATE =-.
I like it when people get impassioned … especially about “going green.” Your points are all quite valid, and you’ve got knowledge that I don’t! I had no clue about the organic certification. I’ll have to start talking more to my farmers!
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