Day 4 - Food!
"Healthy eating can also lessen your foodprint."
Two takes on eating organic:
Steps:
Day 4, Step 1
Take my food list from yesterday and calculate my carbon "foodprint" here. Did I eat anything grown within 250 miles? How much non-organic meat and dairy did I consume? How much packaged food did I buy? Choose five items from yesterday that were not produced locally, and try swapping them out with things that are. Here is a link for "10 economical steps for putting healthy food on the table."
-My approximate carbon foodprint from yesterday was 1729. It's difficult to understand what this number really means unless you try the website out for yourself. It's very easy to use and interactive, but only has a basic selection of possible foods. This at least gives the user a good idea about the impact that their food choices are creating. I got a much better understanding of what kind of food is good to eat, and what kind of food is not. For example, the difference between fried food and baked, or meat vs vegetables! I don't only mean what's good for my body, but I also mean what's good for the environment.
-I challenge you to try the website for one day, or even one meal's worth of food. If you've eaten anything other than local, seasonal fruits and vegetables, you'll probably find that your number is quite high.
-I'm not sure about the origin of the food I ate, so I can't give a very clear answer here. Some of the ingredients probably came from within 250 miles, and most of them probably came from within Japan. It is still a little disconcerting to me that I never before thought about this. How has food, one of the main things that keeps us alive, become such an afterthought in our lives?!
-I do not have a choice about what kind of food goes into the school lunch, and they undoubtedly will serve meat since the lunch is made for growing teenagers. I think on a personal level however, I'm actually becoming somewhat of a vegetarian without even meaning to. I have probably only bought meat to cook or consume in my own house about five times all year, and I tend not to order meat even if I go out to restaurants. Every once in a while, maybe once a month, I will order a dish at a restaurant that contains meat or fish. Perhaps I could make this even less frequent? I don't dislike meat, but I don't ever particularly feel like I must have it. Perhaps I will never consider myself a vegetarian, but I'll do my best to continue with my current pattern. I'm not going to let it go to waste (for example in the school lunch), and I'm not going to let myself go hungry, but I will definitely make an effort to intentionally order and buy foods other than meat.
-If dairy products are bought from local farms with good treatment of the animals, are milk, cheese, and eggs still bad choices? I don't think that there is any way for me to get local dairy where I am living now, but I do think it will be possible once I go back to NY. I could even purchase from the same farm that Colin Beavan himself buys from. It is difficult for me to learn about farmers' markets that are happening in the area. There are none that I know of that happen on a regular basis, but I have asked a few locals to let me know if they hear about anything.
-I do my best to buy as little packaged food as possible. Not only is the package of the food a concern, but have you ever stopped to look at what's in the food? What about the process that the food went through, and how it could possibly have such a long shelf life? Why am I allowing all of those chemicals into my body? I think that if I can manage the time and the land, I would like to have my own vegetable and herb garden in the future. I'll know the conditions of the land and the state of the food that I'm consuming.
Day 4, Step 2
This week change your diet. Try vegan-ism, eating locally, eating organically, or simply reducing the amount of beef you consume.
-I know that it is not possible for me to do all of the above 100% of the time (mostly due to where I live) but I can make better decisions about what I buy and what I eat.
Day 4, Step 3
Dig in! Bicycle over to a farmers market. Learn some new recipes. Invite friends over for a potluck!
-I wish I could figure out where there was one! I agree with the benefits of going to farmers' markets, and when they're not available at least shopping locally! I started going to some local stores instead of the mega-supermarket and I got to know the shopkeepers! It was fun to join the community! Now, every time I go to buy bread down the street, we sit in the shop for 30 minutes or so chatting about this and that over coffee. I get to practice my Japanese, learn about Japan, and feel like I am beginning to belong to something! Slowing down and just taking time to talk with people in the neighborhood is really enjoyable. I've been spending a lot of time online during the No Impact Experiment because I've decided to blog about it, but once the week is over I think I'd like to go back to using the computer less, and getting more involved with friends and the community. This is definitely a major point of the No Impact Project. A pot luck and recipe swap sounds great! Maybe I can organize one for sometime soon.
Day 4, Step 4
Keep track of your food choices. Ask yourself throughout the day; what are the most challenging aspects of adjusting my food habits?
-The most challenging habits I've found about adjusting my food choices are first, being able to find things that fit the guidelines. Also, every once in a while I've wanted some sort of snack. There are ways to make snacks at home with better food and fewer chemicals. I think that the only reason I want the store-bought type is because that's what I'm used to. Getting over the habit of eating unhealthy food is probably what is going to be the hardest step at first, but I think it will eventually disappear. It apparently takes about one month to overcome old habits, and then we adapt to the new ones. I think that so many people give up before that month is finished, and they never reach the point of benefiting from change. If you never tasted potato chips, you wouldn't ever miss them, right? Plus, you can make your own equivalent of potato chips using your own potatoes grown in the backyard!
-Aside from trying to find food produced locally and telling myself there are alternatives to processed snack foods, the other difficult thing about the food stage is being able to find good food, and not create garbage. Then again, the plastic wrapper on the vegetables may be worth it if I'm eating that over meat and other goods. Also, I find that I'm given a lot of food and snacks from people at work and I find it's hard to refuse them.
-In general I think it would be pretty easy to adjust with the right resources, patience, and some time.
Day 4, Step 5
Write down five things for which I am grateful.
1) I am grateful for my healthy body.
2) I am grateful for my healthy mind.
3) I am grateful for my perseverance.
4) I am grateful for having a place I call home, and one that I really like at that!
5) I am grateful for the opportunity to learn something new every day.
Today's food:
-Coffee
-Chahan (broccoli, spinach, eggs, rice, salt, pepper, asparagus, olive oil)
-Vegetable soup
-Vegetable rice dish with pork
-Milk x2
-Green tea
-Homemade rice pudding (a lot of it... ^_^;;)
-Coffee
Today's garbage:
-egg shells x2
-small plastic tab from egg carton (recycled, mixed plastics)
-spinach remains
-plastic band from veggies x 2 (recycled, mixed plastics)
-small paper slip/egg expiration date (recycled, mixed paper)
-broccoli scraps
-small thread off my bag
-milk caps x2 (recycled, mixed paper, mixed plastics)
-toilet paper
-coffee grounds
-Coffee filter (As I mentioned before, I don't usually use coffee filters. I only use them when company comes over, because I don't want to serve them coffee they may or may not like without asking them about it first. I thought a teacher was going to come over tonight to study so I made her coffee, but due to the typhoon she was unable to come. I drank it instead.)
Back to consumption:
So far the things that I've wanted to purchase this
week that I don't need include a personal calendar, a movie, and
chocolate. It hasn't been much of a challenge holding off on buying
these things, and it also made me think about my purchases before
actually making them! Why do I want this? Will I be happy once I've
purchased it? How much money do I spend on things that I don't really
need, or that don't really bring me happiness? If I buy this item, how
long will I use it? How happy will I be with it in the long run? Is it
worth the negative impact that it has on me and on the environment?
What can I do instead of shop for this item? Those things that I thought I wanted at the beginning of the week in Tokyo have completely left my mind.
Also, today I got a great compliment! One of my students told me that I was wearing a cool outfit. Then she corrected herself and she said I was always wearing cool outfits. According to her I have a "good fashion sense." After she said it, the boy next to her agreed. I'm glad that they think I have a good fashion sense! You see, it really is possible to have a style (that you and others like) that does not require having the newest and trendiest wardrobe. Most of the clothes I wear are old, hand-me-downs or used, bought at places like "Good Will" in the states or "Hard-Off" in Japan. I save a lot of time and money this way! For people who like fashion labels and brands or like knowing and owning what's in season, I think that they could use their style sense and put together trendy outfits (even designer labels) without buying them new. Trends come and go and come back again. Also, retro is chic. I've never been a huge fashion buff however, so I apologize if I've just offended anyone who is. I suppose there are all different kinds of styles out there. I prefer the "I pulled this together and it works" look, opposed to the "I bought this new as an outfit last week and it cost me a paycheck" look.
(All of the steps are found on the No Impact Experiment Guide PDF. Copyright 2011 No Impact Project)
Read about other people's experiences here.
"Cotton With Conscience" by Lily Hicks and Krista Vogel.
"7 Ways to Cook Up a Sustainable Diet" by Vicki Robin.
Make sure to download (but don't print) the No Impact Week “How to Guide”
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