Reducing “food miles,” the distance the food travels to get to your plate (and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions) is one of the greenest things you can do. It’s not that easy, especially when you live in the desert and most food is trucked in. There are also produces that have been entirely outsourced. Did you know that most garlic sold in the U.S. now comes from China? Proponents of eating local foods, who call themselves locavores, also say that food security means being able to feed ourselves locally.
Farmers’ markets are a great way to eat local. Markets give small farmers the chance to sell produce locally on a weekly basis, and they give consumers the chance to support the local agriculture and eat better for a reasonable price. The problem on the border is that because of our climate, farmers’ markets are often seasonal and it’s slim pickings in the winter. Here are some area markets to take advantage of.
· The Valley Growers’ Association started its markets on June 2 this year (2010). Wednesdays at 7th Street and Florence, near Armijo Park; Thursdays at 500-D Carolina Street (Tigua Center parking lot); Saturdays at 8500 Dyer Street (Sunrise Center parking lot); and Sundays at 1104 Yarbrough (Long John Silver’s parking lot). All locations operate from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
· Las Cruces has a year-round farmers’ market, from sunup to 1 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday, at the Downtown mall.
· The Mountain View Growers' Market, also in Las Cruces, is every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1300 El Paseo Road.
Local food doesn’t always mean “organic.” Organic foods are grown without pesticides or herbicides, hormones or genetic manipulation. There are many organic food labels and the variety may be confusing. Thankfully we have a handy label decoder at thedailygreen.com. Please also note the fair trade label which helps make sure that the people who make our food in the developing world are not exploited. Being green is also about being fair.
Organic wine
In El Paso, you can find a decent selection of sulfite-free and organic wines at Sun Harvest and World Market for about $12 a bottle, none of them produced locally (there are plenty of local wines however, just not organic). Sulfites are naturally occurring in wine, but many winemakers add extra because sulfites conserves wine. A small percentage of people, often asthmatics, have a low tolerance for sulfites which can cause heartburn, headaches and flushing of the skin. The label “organic wine” designates a wine that goes one step further than sulfite-free and is made from organically-grown grapes. If you drink wine, don’t forget to recycle the bottle at Target stores.Vegetable gardens
A little over a year ago, First Lady Michelle Obama made history by planting a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House. She said she was hoping it would inspire people to follow suit. Most people who have a vegetable garden in El Paso use a top box (a wooden frame filled with top soil that sits over their lawn) so they don’t have to deal with soil that’s often rocky, sandy or contaminated with lead. A vegetable garden is great exercise, cheap to build and maintain and cuts down on food miles.
Here are tips:
· Start small. You’ll be amazed how much food you can grow in a small plot and you can always add to it later.
· Choose plants carefully. Vegetables have different planting times; some (pumpkins, squash, watermelon) will spread out more than others; some grow better on trellis (cucumbers); and some do well in pots (herbs, tomatoes).
· Plant a little at a time so all your produce doesn’t come out all at once.
· Pick a sunny spot, away from the shade of trees.
· Fertilize and mulch. Mulching will help retain moisture, regulate soil temperature and reduce weeds.
· Watch out for pilfering birds.
Why do you need a plastic bag to carry one orange whose peel you will remove anyway? The grocery store (or even the farmers’ market) is full of unnecessary packaging that’s supposed to make your life easier and more sanitary but that doesn’t really do either. What it does is add to your costs and pollute (plastic is made from fossil fuel and doesn’t biodegrade). When shopping for food, you need to “pre-cycle,” or pick foods with less or no packaging.
· Avoid prepared food.
· Buy in bulk; buy concentrated liquids.
· Buy from the deli counter, they tend to use less packaging when wrapping meats and cheeses.
· Buy plastic containers with a 1 or 2 imprinted in a triangle at the bottom; they are recyclable in El Paso.
· At the coffee shop, bring your own cup or ask for a reusable cup.
· Avoid disposables like paper napkins.
· Carry a reusable water bottle.
· Don’t forget your reusable shopping bags.
You can be green in your kitchen too. The kitchen is a room ripe with energy wasters. It’s usually over-lit because we like dark, granite counter tops. So change your counter tops to white and you won’t need to much light to see what you are doing. You’ll also reduce the heat buildup in the kitchen and won’t need so much AC (a 100-watt incandescent light bulb emits the same heat as a person. So, another tip: switch to CFL bulbs). Use microwaves, toaster ovens and crock pots. They are more efficient than stove tops and ovens, especially for reheating small portions. Finally, cutting down on meat is one of the best thing you can do for the environment. The meat industry is one of the leading producers of greenhouse gases because trees that normally absorb carbon dioxide are cleared to make pasture, because cattle create tons of methane gas, and because of the carbon dioxide emitted during industrial processing and transportation.
Food waste
In 1997, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that food losses by consumers and foodservices amount to a quarter of food supplies (other estimates have it as high as 40 percent), mostly fruits and vegetables. Aside from the wasted resources that went into growing it and transporting it, the wasted food is also a source of methane emissions (methane is a powerful greenhouse gas) when it decomposes in landfills. So, what to do? You can plan your food shopping trips better. Here are some tips.
· Plan meals for the week. Better yet, plan meals that can be reheated for one or two days.
· Make a grocery list and stick to it.
· Don’t buy groceries when you are hungry or you’ll buy too much.
· Buy from the deli/butcher counter. You have much more control over quantities than with pre-packaged foods.
· Beware of the exotic squash. It’s exciting to come across an exotic new ingredient to shake up your dinner routine but will you have the time and energy to research new recipes?
· Shop more often. Shopping several times a week on your way home from work (as opposed to one big shopping trip on the weekend) can help with quantity control.
· Plan to fold leftovers from day 1 meal into day 2 meal. For instance, use leftover roasted vegetables in a quiche, omelet, fried rice or lasagna.
· Freeze individual portions.
Finally, it’s time to eat. Don’t wipe your fingers on dead trees; buy a set of cloth napkins and bon appetit!
.JPG)
