What else can I do?

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Sustainable Living in Congleton Food What else can I do?

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when looking to reduce your carbon footprint when buying food.

It can often depend on where you are and how you can source your food. If you follow these basic tips as a rule of thumb, you’ll be likely to have a good impact over time.

Reduce meat and dairy (red meat especially)
Food sourced in the UK or even in your local area is likely to have a lower carbon footprint. Food from elsewhere in the world is generally going to have a higher carbon footprint especially if it arrives here by air. Some fruit and vegetables can’t be grown in this country so try to buy them sparingly and only when they are in season. Supporting local producers is likely to increase the quantity of food produced in the UK. Often, we can use our own containers reducing the amount of packaging which we only throw away. Packaging is another big producer of GHG and a source of pollution.  The key message is: Buy local (when possible)
Think about the time of year as well as the country they are grown in. If you’re buying British tomatoes in October, they probably needed artificial heat and light to grow. Spanish tomatoes would probably have a lower footprint. Eating seasonal produce is generally good advice, where you have a choice.
Reduce your food waste. This is possibly the biggest impact you can have after meat reduction.
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