Published May 30, 2023

Sustainability starts in the kitchen

by MetroParks sustainability coordinator Tim Pritchard

Food systems are a significant driver of climate change, as there is a high carbon footprint associated with conventional agriculture, transportation, storage, preparation/service and disposal. Project Drawdown illustrates reducing food waste as a top priority for mitigating climate change on their table of solutions.

It’s an important topic and the Project Drawdown site is an excellent resource for understanding climate science and learning about practical ways to address a global challenge. Food should be fun and enjoyable, so it can be empowering and inspiring to practice more sustainable consumption. Being more purposeful sourcing food can drive us to be more connected to food systems, growers, and food service professionals, and perhaps even encourage some healthy habits.

Here are a few tips for adopting more sustainable consumer practices related to food:

Grow some of your own food. Take on whatever makes sense for your lifestyle whether it’s a container garden with some of your favorite leafy greens or backyard mini-farm. Use sustainable methods, feeding soil with compost, and eliminating or reducing chemical controls to a minimum.
Support small local farms and gardeners who sell direct to customers or retailers. 2^nd Street Market hosts one of many farm markets in the Miami Valley and is a great place to connect with growers directly.
Purchase unpackaged produce and bring your own reusable bag. Packaging is waste and waste is excess emissions. It’s hard to eliminate all food packaging, but some simple, easy actions go a long way.
Choose to eat a variety of foods with an emphasis on plants. Plant foods, especially with whole, unprocessed ingredients have a vastly lower carbon footprint and use much less water than meat and dairy products. Since most diet preferences include meat, dairy, and eggs, purchase from local farms with organic and regenerative practices when possible. Farm markets are a great place to connect with these producers.
Shop smart and only purchase perishable foods that will be consumed before spoiling. Stock up on canned, dried, and frozen goods, and practice market shopping for produce, meat and dairy when possible.
Compost! About a third of all material in landfills could have been composted to capture carbon as soil instead of generating methane. Composting at home is easy and a great thing to do if you have a garden or flower beds. MetroParks will offer the Compost Kitchen series in partnership with Montgomery County Services, Thursdays, July 6, 13, and 20, and all participants completing the course received a free composter. Register here.