Are there any tips for "going green" while grocery shopping?

Question

Besides locally-produced and organic foods, are some items "more green" than others? For example, are some types of meat and produce easier on the land and environment than others?

Takes up less farmland, requires less energy, helps restore soil nutrients, etc...?

Answer 1

If what you are buying comes in a package or a box, 99% of the time, that product is NOT "green."  Exception would be something like Quaker Oats in the tube.

Find a local butcher and buy your meats there.  Then you will not have the styrofoam or plastic trays.  No factory farmed meats are easy on the land, or the animals that were raised that way.  

Buy dirrectly from a small farmer.  I realize that everyone I post this to states, "There are no small farmers to buy from, near me."  If small farmers can be found only 30 miles from New York city, I have a serrious problem with the idea that "none can be found."

Purchase items that mean you will be cooking from scratch.  Buy most items in bulk.  You can buy those silly little packets of yeast, three packets in a strip...enough to MAYBE make three loaves of bread, for about $1.  Or you can buy one pound of yeast, enough for an entire years worth of baking for about $5.

Buy items when they are in season.  Right now strawberries are in season.  Cherries soon will be.  Apples are NOT in season, nor are any mellons.

So even though the grocery store has those items (apples and mellons) they have been shipped a great distance, from another country.

Find a farmers market.  Purchase at the farmers market.  Learn to preserve your own foods.  That means buying enough at the farmers markets to see you through winter.

You wouldn't believe how much money you can save doing food storage, and cooking from scratch.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 2

You can ask for the people not to print up a receipt if you pay with cash. You should just put small purchases in your purse.

Answer 3

besides the obvious one of taking reuseable shopping bags with you and refuse plastic the biggest it to buy locally. The nearer something was grown the less it had to be shipped/trucked etc.

the problem with only considering things that take up less space and use less resources is that can exclude meat as it is a very wasteful commoddity to produce.

You need to look into  farming practices and see what is friendly to both the earth and the animal.

Of course organic is better for the earth as it replaces rather than depletes soil nutrients.

the first step is the one you have taken - wanting to try

good luck

Answer 4

June 21st is International Organic Baked Bean Day. All you have to do is buy 1 can of organic baked beans as many others have already pledged to do. Show your support fro organic farmers the world over.

Answer 5

Take your own bags or re-usable bins to start with.

Buy only locally grown produce that is in season.

Shop on the outer aisles; avoid processed foods.

Buy bulk-foods & store brands where possible.

Answer 6

first of all take your own bags shopping with you, and if you have to get the plastic ones, recycle them. get local organic foods, because if its local then you don't pollute the air as much as if they were from further away. so there are many many many ways to shop green. good job saving the environment. i give you big props for that. good luck on going green! :D

Answer 7

aaaah, buy unripened produce?

Answer 8

Perhaps you haven't yet started recycling the many containers that package food purchases. And, maybe you have limited access to some of the "greener" food products on the market. Yet there are things you can do if you're interested in a "greener," more environmentally friendly household. Read on for some easy steps you can take right now. They also will save you money, adding a little extra green to your wallet!

Size matters. When choosing between a large container and several small containers that add up to the same volume: Consider whether buying the large container would serve the same purpose and save you money? For example, do you really need to buy individual boxes (and more packaging) of juice if they all are drunk in the same week and at your kitchen table?

It's in the bag. While we could all carry our own reusable shopping bags when we go shopping, if we don’t we can reuse any plastic grocery bags we might accumulate to line small wastebaskets. Put a few bags in the bottom of the waste basket BEFORE you line it, so there’s another one ready to use after one is filled.

Gotta have a plan! Plan ahead and shop less often for groceries or shop in conjunction with other errands taking you near a grocery store. The result is a reduction in the use and cost of fuel needed to transport food.

Practice the 3 Rs. Produce less waste AND save money by practicing the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle.

Here are three examples in relation to throwing away leftover food. Not only does tossing leftovers waste money, it also wastes the energy resources and packaging materials associated with the tossed food.  

Reduce the amount of leftover food tossed by serving smaller portions of foods that frequently produce leftovers OR …

Reuse leftovers by serving them again in a day or two or freezing them for future use, OR …

Recycle leftovers into a different type of meal; for example – add that extra rice to a soup the next night.

Don’t be a "spoil"-sport. Throwing away spoiled food is related to tossing leftovers. Reduce the amount of spoiled food that gets tossed through such practices as:

Read labels for "use by," "expiration," or "best if used by" dates.

Refrigerate and freeze foods at recommended temperatures -- 0 degrees F or lower for freezers and 40 degrees F or lower for the refrigerator section. An appliance thermometer assures your refrigerator/freezer is maintaining these temperatures.

Follow recommended storage times for foods. For example, some containers may specify a recommended time frame in which to eat a food after it is opened.

Avoid buying so much food in bulk that it spoils before you can use it.

Drink to this. Buy a reusable water bottle and fill it with tap water. Your investment soon will pay for itself.

Bulk it up. Some products purchased at the grocery store, such as hand soap, can be purchased in big bottles that are used to refill a smaller bottle size. Reduce the cost and the packaging by refilling the smaller bottle.

Answer 9

Shopping once a month, with a list of all your food/household products needed is a good first step.  Means only one trip to the store -- gas saver.

Buy loose fresh vegetables rather than those packaged in plastic. Buying at a farmers market is usually a better way to go in that area. You are supporting local farmers and cutting down the need for these products to be transported by truck over long distances. They are fresh, not products that have been treated to r****d spoilage or kept in long term storage.

Free range meat and poultry is better all the way around. Here again you could inquire as to what is available locally.  Buy your eggs locally, fresh.

Use canvas shopping bags. IF you are handy you can make them yourself. I did and have used them for 15 yrs. now.  Use coolers to transport items that need to be kept cold from the store to your home.  Use storage totes to transport other items that are bulkier.

Process your fresh veggies when you get home by blanching and freezing for future use. Make your own soups, pasta sauces, etc., and either freeze them or can them for future use. Use freezer paper to wrap your meats, not plastic bags.

Buy larger boxes of cereal, etc., then repack them into glass storage bottles (recycled from other products). I lg. box is less waste than a dozen smaller, or individual sized boxes.

Rethink using paper towels. They are handy, but how many do you use?  Go back to fabric towels that you can wash and reuse over and over again. Think about using dishcloths rather than sponges. By the way if you have bath towels that are a little worse for wear, cut them down and make your own dish towels, dish clothes, wash cloths out of them. Sheets that are frayed at the edges can be cut down and made into spare pillow cases, aprons, place mats, table runners, etc.

By the way you could team up with a neighbor to do your shopping. Use one car for the trip, thereby using less gas. Switch off yours one month, theirs the next.

Answer 10

buy 1 or more of those disposable "green" handbags at your grocery store.....

saves the enviroment...saves time....saves you from paying taxes..its all good

p.s....im 13 years old..

:]]]]

Answer 11

All meat takes a huge amount of energy to produce between the food that is fed to the livestock to the processing and transportation.

You are better off replacing the protein with beans which are more efficient and healthier than meat products.

Additionally it is wiser to buy produce that's harvested locally as less gasoline was used to bring it to your local grocer.

Another suggestion is to make sure that your plate is colorful.  You should have fruits and vegetables of every color during your meals.