Eat Greener

Our third installment of our "Earth Day" series will focus on simple tips to eat greener foods. It just so happens that eating greener coincides with eating vegetarian. We have seen the positive impact that going vegetarian just one day a week has on our planet. By following some simple guidelines there are additional ways to green up a vegetarian diet.

Remember these are simply guidelines, not rules! Make the effort to follow them when it is practical. It would be best if we could follow these all the time, but sometimes it is just not feasible. So, do it when you can, but you do not need to live your life by them to make a difference. For example, try to adhere to them at home, but on Friday night when you go out for Mexican food, don’t worry about it.

Buy locally - all kinds of benefits can be had with this one. It is probably the most important guideline to follow. You support your local farmers, your food is fresh and the energy inputs, such as fuel to transport the food is negligible. Most of the time this food is also grown organically. With Spring here, what better time to visit your farmers market? For listings of farmers markets in your area, click here.

Buy organic- probably the next best thing. Your food has not been sprayed with pesticides and the ground it was grown in was not flooded with fertilizers. Pesticides are not good for your health and fertilizers are not good for our planet’s health.

Buy seasonal- Let nature determine what foods are ready to eat, not the grocery store. What’s in season in Chile may not be what’s season in Oregon. Eating seasonal provides the best tasting foods. Combine this with buying locally and the benefits of fresh, healthy great tasting food will abound. To find out what’s in season in your area, click here.

Grown your own- You do not need huge plots of land and a tractor to grow your own food, just throw some pots on your back deck and start an herb garden or tomatoes or peppers or all of them!

Bring your own bag- This is too simple not to do. You will always have them if you keep them in the trunk of your car (or bike). For more info read ban the bag.

These five simple tips can have a big impact on our planet. Vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike can make a difference by following them. Not only do these guidelines benefit our planet….they also help to make us healthier and more connected with our food supply.

Author Information - During his spare time Eric writes for and maintains wannaveg.com. For his day job he works for an electronics company in San Diego, CA. Eric has been a vegetarian for about 10 years and believes that going 'green' and reducing meat consumption go hand-in-hand.