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Earth-Friendly Habits
Discover easy steps you can take to do your part for the environment—at home and at the store.
We hear it in the news all the time: The earth’s getting warmer, and it’s probably global warming. Though it might seem we can’t do much individually to help solve the problem, small choices made every day—including what we eat and how we shop—can make a difference. Here’s what you can do:
Go organic. Organic produce is grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and it hasn’t been irradiated. And organic dairy products, meats, poultry, and eggs come from animals free of antibiotics or growth hormones. Eating organic food may mean fewer chemicals in your body, and possibly up to 30% less energy to produce it and less than half the carbon dioxide of traditional farming, says Jennifer Wilkins, PhD, a senior extension associate in the division of nutritional sciences at Cornell University.
Know your label lingo. The word “organic” may mean something different depending upon how it’s used.
- “100% organic” means all ingredients are organic.
- “Organic” means that at least 95% of the ingredients are organic.
- “Made with organic ingredients” means at least 70% of the ingredients are organic and the rest contain no genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Look for the seal. The USDA Organic seal means a food has been held to a standard of quality and that the site where it is produced has passed regular inspections. A seal indicates a product is organic, but a food can be organic without the seal because labeling is voluntary.
Forget paper and plastic. The next time the grocery clerk asks if you’d like your food bagged in paper or plastic, pull out your reusable bags instead. Many grocery chains across the country now sell canvas totes or give you a discount for reusing old plastic bags. Have children carry lunch boxes instead of disposable bags. These are easy steps to help cut down on waste.
Go the extra mile. Instead of driving to the store, consider taking a bus or going with a group of friends to save on gas. “Plan ahead so that one trip a week to the store will suffice,” says Wilkins. Or walk if the store is close and your list is short.
Ditch the bottles. Fill your reusable plastic or aluminum bottles with tap water instead of buying another case of bottled water. Bottling, transporting, and recycling bottled water containers wastes a lot of energy for a resource that’s available for free.
Start your own garden. “Start small, with a 10-by-10-foot garden plot and a few of your favorite crops,” says. Wilkins. Use rich, organic soil to start seedlings in early spring. If you can, save produce scraps like banana peels and vegetable leftovers and start a compost pile. After a time, this pile will become a great source of organic matter you can add to your garden to boost the soil’s nutrients naturally.
