6 ways to green your grocery shop
Without changing your whole diet.
Our food system has a big impact on our planet and environment, but we all have to eat, so it’s worth thinking about how we can adjust our habits to make our grocery shop just a little more sustainable.
This doesn’t have to mean major changes in diet and I’m not going to tell you to cut down on your meat consumption (even though you probably should consider it), and these ideas won’t change the world. I want to focus on the easy, low-barrier changes that you can make right away that make your shop just a little more green.
So, here are my 6 tips:
Avoid the plastic
Our groceries so often come with unnecessary plastic and packaging - plastic that ends up choking rivers and oceans and sometimes even the air we breathe. Half of the plastic produced each year is designed to only be used once, but it’s not difficult to start cutting down your contribution.
Two things you can do right now are to stop buying pre-sliced and packaged fruit and vegetables, and buy a pack of reusable produce bags instead of using the single-use plastic bags at the supermarket. It’s a $10 investment that could save a whole lot of plastic.
Think about transport
How do you get to the supermarket? Most of us probably drive, but if you live close enough then your grocery shop can be a great bit of exercise too by going on foot or a bike. If you have to drive, maybe you can go with your housemates at the same time to make it one car trip instead of three.
If you absolutely need to drive and have to go by yourself, then it could be as simple as stocking up so you don’t need to shop as often. That leads me to the next point.
Buy in bulk
Most of us don’t have the time to be shopping every second day. Buying in bulk can save you time, money, and reduce your impact just a little bit more. So many products now come in big bags or boxes with smaller, individual packages inside. The amount of plastic in this blows my mind and is so unnecessary.
The smaller the portions, the higher the plastic-to-food ratio (this isn’t a real ratio but I think it should be).
Buy the bulk pack (without the individual packages) and use reusable containers to portion it at home.
Buy seasonal
Like the last tip, this is both an environmental suggestion and a money saver. Buying seasonal means you can buy local, reduce your food miles, and get fresher, tastier, cheaper food at the same time.
Out-of-season fruit and vegetables have usually been produced under highly energy-intensive systems, or they’re flown or shipped in from far away. Not sure what’s in season? Check out the website of any big supermarket chain and it’ll tell you what’s in season in your area.
Think about where you’re shopping
Speaking of big supermarket chains, think about whether you can replace part of your grocery shop with a trip to a local farmers’ market. Local produce will reduce your food miles, a lot of the produce is organic, and often the prices at a good farmers’ market are comparable to or even better than your normal supermarket.
Supermarkets are energy-intensive places with all the lighting, heating, cooling, and automation, and they often support energy and input-intensive agricultural practices that aim to produce the most food at the lowest cost. Farmers’ market produce is normally (but not always) grown with more consideration for flavour and sustainable practices.
Don’t buy more than you need
Food waste is a major component of the total emissions of agriculture. Food that isn’t consumed often goes to landfill where it breaks down under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions and produces methane.
When you consider all the effort and energy that goes into producing your food, and your money that you put into buying it, it’s absolutely mad to waste it.
My challenge to you is to pick one thing from this list that you can do differently tomorrow. Remember, it’s not about trying to change the world. It’s about taking that one easy step today towards living more sustainably.
If you liked this article (and especially the last tip), you might like this other one I wrote: 5 ways to reduce your food waste.