86 / WOMEN’S HEALTH
good weekend grocery
haul. Just one look at your fully
stocked fridge has you patting
yourself on the back: a week of
fresh and delish dishes comin’
right up. But on Monday that
broccoli gets the boot from your
fam. Tuesday, you work later
than planned, leaving you too
tired for that new pesto-chicken
recipe. And Wednesday,
impromptu dinner plans with
friends easily wins over DIY
dining. Sound familiar?
We’ve all been there. Seriously—
all. Americans throw out more
t ha n 4 0 0 p ou nd s of fo o d p er p er son
annually, according to the Natural
Resources Defense Council
(NRDC). But it’s not just about the
neglected noshes. “When we toss
food, we waste natural resources—
energy, water, air, soil—all of which
are required for production,” says
Katherine Miller, vice president of
impact at the James Beard Founda-
tion. And, ugh, more cons: Leaving
g r ub to rot i n la nd fi l l s pro duc e s t he
sa me a mou nt of g re en hou se ga se s
as 37 million cars. Whoa.
This can also wreak havoc on
your wellness. Amped-up emis-
sions make it harder to breathe by
aggravating asthma. What’s more,
rising temps (courtesy of global
warming) can lead to stress, anxi-
ety, and depression and increase
your risk for cardiovascular issues
such as stroke.
The good news? There are ways
to prevent climate change. The even
better news? Reducing your food-
wa ste out put i s a n e a s y plac e to
start, says Miller. It’s totally doable
on any diet from allergen-free to
keto. So, let’s talk trash...
Focus on Storage
Of course you don’t mean to toss all
that food, but truth is, the majority
of food waste happens in homes
(not restaurants). Here’s step one:
Figure out how much you’re wast-
ing. “For one to two weeks, put all
the food you’d typically discard
into a bin in your fridge or on your
c ou nter. Then t a ke sto ck of what
you’ve collected to start making
better decisions,” says Emily Broad
Leib, director of the Harvard Law
School Food Law and Policy Clinic.
Next: Create “eat me first” areas for
e d ible s t hat ne e d to be u se d qu ick-
ly, like berries or dairy products—
no sha me i n label i ng a s a rem i nd-
er!—and practice reorganizing
your fridge post-shop. As you un-
pack your bags, move older goods
to the front so you grab ’em before
re c ent buy s. Th i s w i l l a l so m a ke it
easier to “shop your fridge” later—
i.e., see what you still have before
heading to the market, says scien-
t i st Da na Gu nder s, for merly of t he
NRDC and author of Waste-Free
Kitchen Handbook.
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