84 | AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HEALTH naturalhealthmag.com.au
“You can fight food waste by buying
only what you need and eating what you
buy. This boils down to planning meals,
writing a shopping list (and sticking to
it!), cooking up what is in your fridge
before buying more and loving your
leftovers. Also, store food correctly –
moving food to the freezer when close
to expiry.”
Buying only the necessities also
decreases the purchase of plastics, and
to take it the next step, growing our
own produce is even more effective. A
backyard vegie patch will bypass harmful
chemicals commonly used in food
production. Plus, homegrown fruit and
vegies further enriched by healthy soils
and fertilisers create a trusty compost – an
ideal solution for food scraps.Sydney’s Green Living Centre
claims that approximately half of
the average bin is filled with organic
waste; mainly food scraps, which
become rotting landfill that forms
greenhouse gases. Composting – which
can be done simply on a smaller scale
using a bokashi bin – and worm
farming are natural recycling systems
that break down scraps into smaller
nutrients; compost bins ideal for
homes (recycles food scraps and garden
waste), compact and odourless worm
farms (limited fruits and vegies) most
convenient for apartment living.INSPIRED COMMUNITIES
A collective desire to lead a greener
lifestyle has a beautiful way of“Creating and
sustaining a brighter
future for younger
generations starts
within our own
hearts and homes”EAT GREEN
Did you know that swapping the steaks
and snags for tofu and tempeh may not
only improve our personal wellbeing,
but also help save our planet (not to
mention our nation’s 500 million plus
animals confined and slaughtered yearly
for consumption!)? Many people may
switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet for
spiritual or ethical, cruelty-free reasons,
but recent studies into the destruction
animal industries can inflict on our
environment provides another very
valid reason for making a plant-based
dietary switch supporting sustainability.
The United Nations currently considers
the animal industries as one of the most
concerning contributors to worldwide
environmental problems; having a
detrimental impact on global warming,
availability of fresh water, pollution, soil
erosion, loss of habitat and rainforest
destruction. Concerningly, approximately
one-third of land on Earth is used to
produce meat and animal products.
Closer to home, People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) reports
that animal agriculture takes up 58 per
cent of Australian land, causes half of
our greenhouse gas emissions and uses
almost one-third of our scarce freshwater
resources. The amount of water needed
to feed just one meat-eater could
feed three vegetarians, and the water
required to produce one hamburger
equivalent to one month of showers!
Transitioning to vegetarianism or
veganism can profoundly enhance the
abundance of our planet, and is a step
we can all take – but ensure you seek
sound nutritional guidance. Visit peta.
org.au for a free vegan starter kit.