SMALL CHANGES FOR A BIG CAUSE: HOW TO LIVE MORE SUSTAINABLY AND HELP THE PLANET
When it comes to sustainability, the goal is intention, not perfection! The best way to decrease our carbon footprint is to be mindful of what we use, eat, consume and purchase. Here are 6 simple ways you can start to treat lightly on mother earth and get the most out of your products!
1. The Beauty of Banana Peels
Bananas are more than just the MVP of smoothies; they have a slew of benefits in their peels. You can rub the inside of the peel directly on your cute face for a little DIY face mask. Once you’ve done that, fill a glass jar with water and put your used peels inside. Vitamins and minerals diffuse from the peel into the water which creates a YUM smoothie for your house plants. *Do not use this water on edible plants- some peels have high percentages of these minerals that are not great for consumption.
2. Ditch the Paper Towels
Listen to me- paper towels are…kinda silly. They account for more than 250 tons of global waste per year and take hella resources to produce (Piper, 2018)*. Instead, try using kitchen towels or old cloth/clothing rags to soak up spills instead. You can also find reusable paper towel products online that are machine washable. You will be surprised how much money you will save doing this! *Shout out to Ashlee Piper, author of “Give a Sh*t”, an incredible book about how we can do better for the planet and ourselves.
3. BYOC: Bring Your Own Containers
I carry a small backpack with me that contains these things: wallet, hand sanitizer, face mask (2020 is weird), 700 granola bar wrappers, and REUSABLE CUTLERY/CONTAINERS. These have come in clutch whenever I forget to pack a fork for lunch which is ~almost always~. It is super convenient to pack your cafe leftovers directly into your pyrex rather than that flimsy tin + plastic lid you pinch around the edges and still end up spilling sauce everywhere on the way home. Fancy bamboo sets are an option, but not necessary; just take a spoon, fork, DULL KNIFE, straw and cloth napkin from your kitchen and you will never need to do the walk of shame to the cafeteria to grab that dang one-use spoon for your mid-day yogurt.
4. Make it Juicy
I’m going to say something that we all, unfortunately, know too well: mushy strawberries. We are all guilty of buying produce we plan to eat and never do. Buying a juicer is a great way to get use out of all those fruits and veggies that would otherwise get thrown away. Gone are the days of wilted kale! No more soggy plums in the fruit bowl! Goodbye gnats! My favorite things to juice have been oranges, plums, strawberries and blueberries (I’ve yet to discover a green juice that I totally love, but when I do you’ll be the first to hear about it!)
5. Shop Your Stash
We live in a society where accessibility to really anything isn’t an issue, but maybe that is EXACTLY the problem. When goods can be sent to our door with the push of a button, it is difficult to not give in. Consumerism runs a cycle: demand for product –> increase labor, land use, pollutants and deforestation –> accelerated climate change. Overconsumption of fast-made products reinforces poor labor laws for exploited factory workers. This is a giant problem that can only be changed collectively. Before you buy something, ask yourself if it is a necessity or a fleeting desire (sometimes we buy things simply because we WANT them, and that is okay! Just be mindful of your purchases). Research some companies that do justice by the planet and workers.
Terms to look for when shopping:
Natural, reclaimed/recycled, nontoxic, organic, zero waste, fair-trade
*I highly recommend Ashlee Piper’s book, Give A Sh*t, as she goes into these terms and ideas in great detail! A very approachable book to make saving the planet seem like a cinch.
6. Eat More Plants
Meals packed with veggies, legumes, nuts, fruits and plant-protein sources are much easier for the planet to produce than meat and dairy. Cattle farms pollute water supplies which damages the environment and is a public health concern. Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest is predominantly due to clearing land to raise animals for slaughter (Margulis, 2004). Filling our plates with locally sourced, organic fruits and vegetables is kinder to the planet, animals and our body!
Some plant-based swaps:
Chicken – tofu, tempeh, seitan, plant-based “chicken” alternatives
Beef- mushrooms, jackfruit, beans, plant-based ground “beef”
Protein- peanut butter, chickpea pasta, lentils, beans (black, red, kidney, etc), protein powder, seeds (pumpkin, flax, chia), nuts, oats, quinoa
Iron- dark leafy greens, nuts, lentils, dark chocolate, supplements
B12- fortified foods and vitamin supplements
Sustainability and doing our best for the planet is NOT about perfection. If we all do our what we can with the tools we are given, the world will already be in much better shape.
