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Save 10,000 garbage bags in four easy steps

 8/06/2010 5:57:00 PM, Sanitarium Nutrition Service Next
The CSIRO has published a book, The Home Energy Saving Handbook and it says that if we move to a plant-based diet that is waste-free we can reduce our personal footprint by 10,000 garbage bags of carbon each year. There are four key food-related tips to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions: eat less meat, avoid waste, grow your own food and recycle.


Eat less meat
The book provides a comparison between different diets and their impact on the environment. It compares the greenhouse gases produced when following a vegetarian diet, a high carbohydrate plan, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet and the average Australian diet.

Take our personal ecological footprint quiz

The comparison shows that overwhelmingly, a vegetarian diet is the most environmentally friendly eating style. High-protein meat diets, like the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet and average Australian diet, produce the most greenhouse gases — almost twice as many as diets with a plant-food focus.

Our tip: Eat less meat, especially red meat, and choose more environmentally friendly sources of protein such as legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds.

Avoid waste
Australians throw up to 4 million tonnes of food each year. Strong greenhouse gases such as methane are produced when food waste is disposed in landfill.

Our tip: Plan meals and always take a list to the supermarket. Naturally, there is always going to be scraps and some leftover food, so use leftovers for a low-cost lunch or meal the next evening. When it comes to disposing food, composting is the best option.

Related video November 11, 2009: Recycling expert Megan Griffiths joins TODAY to discuss what can and can't be recycled.


Grow your own
Transportation and large-scale food production contribute significant greenhouse gases to our food supply.

Our tip: Use ingredients grown at home when possible. You can grow food no matter where you live, even if it's a few herbs or a tomato bush in a pot on the windowsill.

Recycle
While it's best to base most of what we eat on whole foods like fruits and vegetables that don't have any packaging, there are going to be times when you need to pick up convenient, packaged food. The simple act of recycling can reduce the amount of rubbish in landfill and save raw material.

Our tip: Recycle whenever possible. If you can't find a recycle bin when you're out simply take the packaging home and put it into your home recycle bin.

These tips show us that small changes can make a big difference. What are your best tips for reducing greenhouse gas emissions around the home?

This information is provided by the Sanitarium Nutrition Service.

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