What foods to avoid due to environmental impact?

[QuebecBagnet]

I was in a cafe today which has stopped service avocados and make their own pea guacamole instead which has got me thinking. It’s due to the environmental impact of water intensity when being grown and transportation.

I’m already vegetarian. I drink coconut milk which I suspect may not be the best and maybe ought to look at alternatives (oat milk?).

trying to keep air miles low/buy in season I suppose is the main thing but is there anything else? I know about palm oil.

Almonds from California for sure, v intensive monoculture and huge drive on the v scarce water.

I've been vegan, veggie but few years ago read up on sustainable agriculture and last summer went on a tour round a regenerative farm.

It was a completely closed loop, and it's made me realise there is a place for animals for all they do to benefit soil, diversity and can be eaten/drunk.

The best thing is to support local growers as recent events have shown how precarious food supply is. Increases food resilience, reduces food miles and free up land abroad for those in the developing world to grow crops tailored to their needs to feed themselves rather than growing one crop ie green beans to fly half way'round the world to us.

Whilst it's v vegan focused ethical Consumer is good on this

I’ll add almonds to the list, thanks. Really good point about developing countries who are growing crops for us means there’s pressure on land to grow crops they need. It’s not good. I’d never thought about that.

Anything with a short shelf-life that has been imported from another continent. Fresh peas, beans and asparagus from Morocco or Kenya? It'll be air freighted.

Also watch out for produce from Spain: www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/16/farmers-are-digging-their-own-graves-true-cost-of-growing-food-in-spains-arid-south

That's not to say that just buying British strawberries is the solution, they're often grown in heated polytunnels to extend the season (less so this year, given the price of gas).

Oranges, bananas and kiwifruit have long shelf lives so transport is low-impact. Monoculture is an issue with bananas though, so shop around for more unusual varieties than the ubiquitous cavendish. Obviously look for fair trade organic produce to be sure that human rights and pesticide use aren't issues.

The only way you can be completely sure that the stuff you eat hasn't been airfreighted/sprayed/heated/plastic-wrapped, or cultivated by slave labour is to grow as much as possible yourself. A lot of the more problematic stuff such as peas/beans and soft fruit are really easy to grow yourself.

I'd be keen to find out more too.

We buy seasonal as much as possible and have a small amount of organic milk delivered in glass bottles which has cut down our plastic waste. I think they deliver oat milk in glass bottles now too.

We do still eat meat, but only once or twice a month. I think we're losing the taste for it to be honest. I walk to our local grocer to save fuel. Not sure where to go from here. Maybe introduce more vegan meals to gently ease into a different way of eating.

Watching with interest!

70% of all global emissions are caused by 100 companies.

As much as we want to help, not eating an avocado isnt gonna save the planet.

But the more commercial pressure on those companies to change the better things will be - seeing people refusing to buy stuff is one big motivator for the commercial enterprise

Fish and all seafood.

The fishing industry is the biggest threat from the food industry to the natural environment on the planet.

By a very long shot.

This looks interesting OP - I heard her interviewed on R4 earlier today otherwise I wouldn't have known about it, but I suspect she's right with a lot of her analysis.
Basically saying that the whole 'eat no meat for both health and planet' is vastly overstated.

www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Plant-Based-eating-plants-only-improve-ebook/dp/B08W8L1QP2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SF2ML0LFUP9P&keywords=jayne+buxton&qid=1652708557&s=books&sprefix=jayne+buxton%2Cstripbooks%2C77&sr=1-1

If you want to listen to the interview it's here at about 19.20 minutes in.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0017cp5

I love an avocado as much as the next person, but have discovered that I now love seasonal asparagus even more.

I assume OP was asking due to cumulative impact and in the spirit of each of us as individuals taking responsibility. It's easy to become overwhelmed when faced with the bigger picture. Whatever you can do to help - do

it's ... complicated.
How bad are bananas may be dated, tried to address the tradeoffs.
Like... we think "sweat shop conditions are terrible!" but those same textile factories gave amazing economic independence to women who would otherwise never have had it.

ps: I think some things are indisputable. Like... food waste is a total bad. Think hard how you can ensure very minimal food waste.

Interesting thread. I drink oat milk as it's got the better carbon footprint of the plant milks. I also try to buy British when I can. Today for example I wanted asparagus and there was some from Peru and some that were grown in the uk. The Peruvian asparagus was cheaper but I bought the uk grown one. But it's a constant balance between ethics and my budget much like everyone else I suspect.

Almost all of those 100 companies are oil giants, so anyone who buys petrol is funding their pollution.

After an epic fail of leaving the freezer door adjar overnight and spoiling half the contents I'm feeling way less smug today about my environmental footprint.

It was me too. Idiot. I left the sodding door open by not pushing a drawer in far enough. Very annoyed at the unnecessary food waste. Very, very annoyed that I can't blame anyone else for it.

It has got me wondering about the environmental benefits of frozen food over tinned, jars and packet food. Tins and jars can be kept at an ambient temperature for months (years?) and no energy is needed in the form of electricity to keep them that way. They are nutritious and easily recyclable. Far more so than the plastic wrappers most of the frozen produce comes in. Clearly local, seasonal goods are best on so many levels but what are the pros and cons of tins and jars over frozen??

I'm no expert but would tins and jars be more processed and have more things like additives and stabilisers in? (Talking about things like sauces, meat in gravy etc rather than frozen vs tinned peas).