Spotlight On: Eco-Friendly Food Choices

Gwyneth has the Goop Gift Guide. Pantone has the Color of the Year. And Whole Foods has their annual food trend report. While browsing the newly-released 2019 edition, we were thrilled to see a common theme running through the trends: sustainability. From plant-based snacks (umami-packed mushroom jerky, anyone?) to eco-conscious packaging to a focus on brands with a mission, the spotlight is on all things environmentally-friendly, and we are here for it.

You can see the full report here to find out what you (and your taste buds) have to look forward to—but if you’re ready to start making more eco-friendly food choices now, read on for a few of our favorite tips!

Celebrate Meatless Monday

Or any day. According to a study published in the journal Science, avoiding meat and dairy is one of the most impactful ways for an individual to contribute to environmental preservation. Try it for 24 hours once a week. With the right recipes, you might find you don’t even miss it. We recommend heading to Love & Lemons and Melissa Wood for inspiration.

Make Thoughtful Purchases

Not all food is created equal. When shopping, consider food miles (how far the item has to travel to get to you ), and buy from local producers when possible. Services like New York-based OurHarvest, which is essentially a farmer’s market in InstaCart form, make it easy to do so. When you do eat meat, stick to options with a lower carbon footprint like turkey, chicken and tuna.

Go for Glass

Purchase food products packaged in glass rather than in plastic—then reuse the packaging for food storage and transportation. A glass jar makes a great spill-safe option for transporting last night’s leftovers into the office!

Meal Prep

We’ve all watched many a vegetable slowly wilt in our produce drawers or uncovered a half-used package of lunch meat at the back of the fridge. Plan your meals so that you buy only what you know you’ll need. This not only helps you save money and eat healthier, it also decreases your food waste (and the amount of methane released by decomposing food in landfills).

Pro Tip: You can also decrease food waste by using FreshPaper. Created by Kavita Shukla, who worked with us on our INSPIRED BY WOMEN™ platform, these small, compostable sheets of paper can be dropped into a fridge drawer, fruit bowl or any other container filled with produce to help keep fruits and veggies fresh for 2-4x longer.