Learn about the impacts of food waste and prevention strategies here.

Agriculture has an enormous carbon footprint. In some countries, this industry is the leading source of pollution. Farm chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers frequently contaminate water and soil, creating adverse health effects for humans and wildlife. Emissions from activities such as using gas-powered machinery, burning fields, and food processing, packaging, and transportation are part of the estimated 25% to 30% of global emissions attributed to food systems. However, raising cattle is by far the the largest contributor, accounting for about half of these emissions. Another significant source is the production and use of fertilizer, which creates 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Farming also requires immense resources, including 70% of the world’s freshwater and almost half of habitable land. People make up a giant part of the agricultural sector: the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reports that around 1.23 billion people were employed in the world’s agrifood systems in 2019, with the highest number located in Asia, followed by Africa. Low wages, exploitation, abuse, and forced labor often plague these agricultural workers.

Yet after all the resources used, it is estimated that almost 40% of food produced worldwide goes uneaten. Learn more about food waste and how to reduce it here.

What is sustainable food?

Sustainable food encompasses production and consumption practices that ensure environmental protection, economic viability, and social equity over the long term. It involves methods that:

1. Minimize Environmental Impact: This includes reduction of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, water conservation, reducing GHG and deforestation, and responsible farming practices.
2. Support Local Economies: Sourcing food locally as much as possible helps to ensure food security and shortens the food supply chain while reducing the carbon footprint associated with transportation. Shopping locally offers better traceability and transparency and supports local farmers and communities.
3. Promote Animal Welfare: Adopting vegan or vegetarian practices is the ultimately best alternative, but those who choose to eat meat should support suppliers that practice ethical treatment of animals, providing them with natural living conditions and diets. In addition, it is very important to support farmers and ranchers who do not contribute to deforestation and utilize responsible farming practices.
4. Ensure Food Safety and Health: Sustainable food production avoids the use of hazardous or unhealthy substances, such as pesticides, additives, or other harmful chemicals.
5. Promote Fair Trade: Ensuring fair working conditions and fair pay for all workers involved in the food production chain.

By supporting companies that prioritize food sustainability, we can encourage a food system that meets current human needs while preserving resources, protecting the environment, and ensuring that future generations can meet their own needs.

How to make sustainable food choices

Choosing sustainably produced foods isn’t any different than other non-toxic, eco-friendly items you purchase. The questions to consider are the same, which include:

• Where was this grown/produced? Is there a local option?
• What chemicals were used? What are the ingredients? Are there cleaner, more natural choices?
• Was it grown/produced sustainably and ethically? What are the business practices of the manufacturer/seller?
• Is there a plastic-free packaging option?

Source and prepare more yourself

If you look around the grocery store, you’ll notice how much food has become geared towards personal convenience. Pre-prepared meals, pre-cut produce, processed foods…it’s all quick and easy. But it involves a lot of packaging, additives, and extra cost.

Consider sourcing your own food as much as you can, which gives you control of the methods used. This can be as simple as growing herbs on a windowsill or a tomato plant on a small patio. If you have the space, grow a garden or keep chickens. Trade extra produce with friends or neighbors. Learn how to forage for food like mushrooms or greens from experienced foragers. Gather shellfish, catch fish, or hunt.

Prioritize making more time to create your meals. Homemade meals, while of course more time- and labor-intensive, are healthier, tastier, and often cheaper. Skip the pre-cut foods; they won’t taste as good, are expensive, and are almost always packaged in plastic.

Try experimenting with homemade copycat recipes for your favorite processed foods. Get a tiny wafflemaker to make and freeze homemade Eggos. Make your own granola or bread. The sky is the limit here…jams, meatballs, salad dressings, yogurt, frozen burritos, crackers, dried fruits and herbs are all great things you can try.

Buy local foods

As mentioned, buying locally-produced foods has both environmental and economic benefits.

• Eating local produce means adopting the practice of buying foods in season, which decreases distance traveled for, say, strawberries purchased in the middle of January.
• Locally grown produce is fresher and therefore taste better and are more nutritious since it can be picked at peak ripeness and allowed to ripen naturally.
• Shorter and smaller supply chains means less handling, which decreases risk of bacterial or viral contamination during harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.
• It is easier to verify farming/production methods, supply chains, and ingredients used by smaller, local producers. It is less likely that these foods will contain chemicals like food additives, enzymes, flavorings, and preservatives.
• Buying local foods supports local farmers, bakers, breweries, cheesemakers, vineyards, and anyone else that produces food and beverages. This practice builds relationships, and keeps money in local communities, businesses, and services.

Sustainable food production

As with any other purchased item, you can research company practices online or by contacting customer service. There are numerous certifications regarding food production that can help us as consumers to buy ethically and sustainably produced foods.

This first group of third party certifications are concerned with business operations, which include not only sustainability measures, but also fair and safe labor practices. This aspect is especially important with products like coffee, cocoa, palm oil, and sugarcane.

Animal welfare

Learn about labeling and standards for livestock and poultry here.

Agricultural standards

The four types of organic labeling you may see include:

1. 100% Organic – Contains 100% organic ingredients (excluding salt and water, which are considered natural)
2. Organic – Any product that contains a minimum of 95% organic ingredients (excluding salt and water); the remaining 5% may be nonorganic agricultural or nonagricultural products on the National List only if they are not commercially available as organic
3. Made with Organic _____ – Product contains at least 70% organically produced ingredients (excluding salt and water), with a number of detailed constraints regarding the nonorganic ingredients
4. Specific Organic Ingredient Listings – Specific organic ingredients may be listed in the ingredient statement of products containing less than 70 percent organic contents

Sustainable food packaging

The most eco friendly food packaging is no packaging at all. This can be achieved by growing your own produce, shopping at farmer’s markets, or buying in bulk. Stores like Winco and Whole Foods carry a large selection of foods, candy, coffee, and pet food available in bulk. Be sure to check local health food and grocery stores too. Make sure to bring your own bags or containers; I really like these organic cotton dry goods bags that I purchased from the Spaza Store on Etsy. The great thing about shopping this way is that it is often much cheaper than buying packaged foods.

Buy loose produce, and if you are only getting one item, or even a few, you don’t necessarily need a bag for it. Many grocery stores carry reusable mesh produce bags in the produce section, or there’s plenty of great choices online. My favorites include:

• Grove Organic Cotton Mesh Reusable Produce Bags
• Chico Bag Mesh Produce Bag or Produce Moisture Lock Bag
• A wide variety of choices found on Etsy

Don’t forget your reusable shopping bags too!

For everything else, do what you can to avoid plastic food packaging whenever possible. Sometimes there’s just no other option. If a choice is available, select products contained in recyclable food packaging such paper or cardboard; metal and glass are great options since they can be recycled infinitely.

Learn about plastic pollution here.

Biodegradable food packaging is tricky. You must check whether it is home or industrially compostable; the latter must be processed in a composting facility that reaches very high heat, which are not common. Unfortunately, most compostable food packaging belongs to this category.

If you need a refresher on what materials are recyclable, click here or visit the page for specific material type you are seeking.

Sustainable food categories

Learn more information about how to find sustainable options for specific types of foods, as well as some recommendations of sustainable food brands and products.