Food Choices

Honestly, I almost never consider the environmental impact of my food and beverage choices. I do not buy bottled water or many paper products because I think they are unnecessary but, beyond that, the environment is not on my mind when it comes to food. When I am at the grocery store my main focus is the price. I shop for what I like and what is on sale and cheap. Because of financial constraint I have limited options when it comes to food.

Another factor that influences my food choices is availability. I shop at the Safeway grocery store down the street from my apartment. The food that is there, available in the store, is the food I buy and eat. I do not go to specialty stores like local bakeries, seafood markets or vegetable stores. The primary reasons for this is because they are often more expensive and are not close to my apartment.

I am sure that most of the foods I consume daily have pretty large environmental impacts so it is difficult to determine the worst one. I think that when I went out to eat last Saturday, the food I had there probably had the greatest environmental impact. Restaurants get their food from all over the place in mass quantities. The transportation of these foods in bulk has a great impact on the environment. Also, restaurants have to supply a wide range of foods and they all have to be fresh. Its also important to note the energy these restaurants consume to keep everything refrigerated and heated/air conditioned. This is way more than the average household.