What we eat plays a role in the health of our environment. Here are some things to consider when trying to make doable changes to improve your impact without breaking the bank.
'Local': It's more how far your food has traveled
Bags of avocados are displayed on a shelf at a Costco in Novato, California. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
When we talk about eating local as a climate solution, we're talking about the energy and resources needed to get that tomato from a farm in Florida to your kitchen. But as WBUR Boston's Barbara Moran explains :
"[I]n the middle of New England winter, nobody is growing tomatoes locally unless they’re hydroponic or in a greenhouse. While these practices can be environmentally sound, studies show that tomatoes grown in a Florida field had a lower environmental impact than greenhouse tomatoes from Ontario or hydroponic tomatoes from Maine."
Back in 2022, WBUR Boston's Andrea Shea went hardcore locavore for a week to see how practical it would be. Beyond the obvious switches (sourcing local bananas, lemons and avocados in New England is challenging at best,) finding lots of staples within 200 miles of home wasn't impossible, but it was stressful.
Sourcing local maple syrup? Check. Eggs? Check. Coffee? Not so much.
When you're striving for perfection when trying to source exclusively from your area, you can quickly get overwhelmed or blow your budget.
How to make eating local realistic in your community
This boils down to taking advantage of what's in season, available and affordable.
Not all of us have access to multiple supermarkets or grocery stores , let alone find locally produced grains or spices that are in our budget. But more options are popping up, and when you can take advantage of them, it can help improve that access for others.
This popup food stand in Charlotte, North Carolina, is serving a food desert in the community and raising money to add a local grocery store, teaching kitchen and meat processing facility. As WFAE Charlotte's Zachary Turner reports , the effort is designed to help local farmers, increasing access to locally made food in the area.
“If we want to save farmland, then our farmers need to make money,” Carolina Farm Trust CEO Zack Wyatt says. “If we care about climate change, then we need to farm the right way.”
Meat: None? Less? What's doable?
The Impossible Burger 2.0 introduced at a press event during CES 2019 in Las Vegas. (ROBYN BECK / AFP)
Does it have to be none? Not exactly.
As a target, for our health nutritional scientists recommend adults eat less than half an ounce of red meat per day. That works out to about 3.5 ounces — or a single serving of red meat — per week . And it's far less red meat than Americans currently consume on average: between an estimated 2 and 3 ounces per day.
Climate scientists also call for us to consume less to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the resources involved in commercial meat production.
That's not zero, but it's certainly a lot less for most Americans. And what you substitute in can have an impact on not only your climate footprint but your health .
Access to easy and affordable vegetarian or vegan food is getting better in many parts of the country. In Idaho, "despite their red-blooded meat and potatoes reputation," Boise State Public Radio's Julie Luchetta found a number of menus providing options to reduce meat consumption.
Just last month in the Bay Area, KQED's Luke Tsai found "a multicultural smorgasbord of jollof, lumpia, curry rice bowls, Cajun fried chicken and Dole Whip–style soft serve" — all vegan — at one of the area's biggest food festivals.
Surprising sustainable switches
Blue Crabs are seen at the Maine Avenue Fish Market along the Potomac River in Washington. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
Then there are some creative solutions that won't work for everyone but might inspire you as you tackle finding more sustainable eating habits.
Please Note: If done incorrectly, foraging can pose serious risks. Those who choose to pursue foraging should conduct thorough research from multiple credible sources, consult experts, and exercise caution.
Certain seafood that's causing problems in some parts of the country could make for an easy sustainable switch from harder-to-source options. For example, in the Pacific Northwest, green crabs are invasive, but they can also be a local alternative to blue crabs found in lots of East Coast recipes.
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