World Environment Day

Today is the World Environment Day, and we are going to celebrate it on green carpet too!

I was thinking of what activity would be the best for our family and our planet..
And I realized that I just simply have to address the two concepts of what UNEP has also suggested- Sustainable consumption and Food waste!

So this is what I registered at UNEP as my activity:

The change starts at the grassroots level right? So I am starting there- with myself and my family. I am discussing how food production impacts the Environment and what we can do, especially discussing food waste. Even though my mom assures we don't have much food waste since we have pets and grandmom nearby has also hens and ducks, and my mom has a worm compost "farm" too.. but still- I am on the path of finding the ways to show my family how every scrap of food can be used and how leftowers can be incorporated in further meals.. In addition I am talking with them about reducing store bought produce, reducing bread, meat and ready made items, and even reducing cooking and benefits of eating more raw food! It might not help saving hungry children in developing countries, but what we must change is the overall eating patterns of our whole planet, especially "the West".. 

Copyrights BERAS

Additional motivation for this I also found in Tallinn last week where I attended Policy forum on BaltAdapt project, and one of the participants was presenting the BERAS- Baltic Ecologycal Recycling Agriculture and Society and the concept of a Diet for a Clean Baltic:

As a consumer changing what you eat is the most important action you can take to save the environment. The following criteria can guide your choice of food weather you are an individual consumer, a professional responsible for purchases in the public sector, or running a restaurant.

First of all the food should taste good and be healthy. Organic food is good both for us and the environment. Local food and food according to season minimise transports and support our local producers. Most likely seasonal food will also cost less and give us the opportunity to stay more connected with our natural environment. Leftover food is a waste of energy and we should try to reduce it. Producing vegetables and grains is much more energy efficient than producing meat. Therefore reducing our meat consumption is the most important thing we do.

We call it Diet for a Clean Baltic.

In short, Diet for a Clean Baltic means choosing food that is produced within the natural boundaries of our ecosystem.

I'm in!!!
So- eat organic, eat local, eat seasonal, eat vegetarian and I would also like to add- eat raw!
I don't mean that you have to go 100% on any of these at once, but just start replacing step by step, introduce the good things and you'll see how the bad ones fall away real quick ;)

Let's eat food that's good for yourself, your family and your planet!