Food Dilemma

As we have discussed in class on multiple occasions, overconsumption is one of the leading factors that impact our environment. Keeping this in mind, I try my best not to consume more food than I actually need to stay healthy. Though I am not a vegetarian, I eat as little meat as possible, and try to limit the amount of dairy products I purchase and consume.

Last spring I took a seminar class through AU's Environmental Studies program and spent a significant amount of time researching and discussing the impact that food production has on the environment. Tremendous amounts of energy are used both in the production of food stuffs and the transportation of food to grocery stores around the US and the world.

Americans especially impact the environment because of the vast amounts of food we demand and purchase. Very few food purchases are made locally in comparison to the amount of foods we have imported from other regions.

After gaining this knowledge (along with other information), I've been eating as simply as I can. I avoid purchasing prepackaged foods, and purchase locally when possible. I generally drink water from my Brita filter, and rarely purchase bottled water/other beverages. Usually, my trips to the grocery store entail some painstakingly thought-provoking mental debates as I try to calculate the amount of energy used to produce, package, and deliver all of the food I purchase. In the end, I usually go home with a combination of fresh and frozen veggies, some milk, a box of cereal, and some pasta.

Though I can't buy all of my food locally, my strategy for food consumption is essentially to limit the overall amount of food I purchase and consume. And on the occasion that I dine out, I generally eat less than half of the food I order and I manage to make the leftovers last a few more meals.

Over the last two days, I've eaten my usual sauteed veggies, cheerios, a granola bar or two, some pasta and a few other light snacks, but I'm nearly positive that the Lean Cuisine dinner I ate had the most significant impact. Based on the fact that it's packaged with plastics and paper, it's frozen and shipped, and it contained pasta, sauce, and veggies from who knows where- I'd say it took the most amount of fuel to produce and ship.

I've never purchased frozen meals before this past summer, but I decided to start buying them after my babysitting family got me hooked. Since then, I've significantly limited the number of Lean Cuisines I've been buying because I realized how many resources they waste... and because real food tastes much better.