Eco Tips From Your Granny

Being more eco-friendly doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, you can start by going back to how your grandparents did it:

Write a shopping list: It’s estimated that about a third of household food is thrown away. It’s not rocket science, but a good old-fashioned shopping list will help you to avoid buying food that you don’t need.

Beauty is not better: Whatever happened to the strangely-shaped apples and wonky carrots? With consumer demand, tonnes of good fruit and vege are now thrown away because they don’t look ‘perfect’. So, go for the beautifully unique-looking produce—it tastes as good and has as many nutrients. Help reverse the consumer trend that is causing so much unnecessary waste.

Use a shopping trolley: Invest in a wheeled shopping trolley like your grandma had (although you can buy funky ones nowadays), and you’ll be able to walk home with your groceries. Choose unpackaged produce and pop them into your trolley—this will not only reduce packaging waste, but will also help you to buy only what need, and not get sucked into ‘special deals’ where you end up buying more.

Bake your own bread: You don’t need a power-guzzling breadmaker. Find a simple recipe and bake your own bread—it will be free of additives and preservatives, and the kneading is a great arm-toner!

Eat fresh: Fresh, ripe produce has more nutrients than those stored in refrigeration units. The best way to eat fresh is to buy from the producers and buy what’s in season—there are plenty of farmer’s markets around now, and you could even pick your own if you live near orchards.

Buy locally: As well as the nutritional benefits, buying locally hugely reduces the carbon footprints from transport and packaging. In addition, it’s much easier to find out when it was picked, where it came from and how ‘green’ their farming practice is.

By Ingrid Barratt (abridged from War Cry, 14 January 2011, p8)