The Perfect Foam

Sustainability

In recent years I have tried to live my life as “green” and sustainable as possible. My recent move out to San Francisco, where everywhere you look you see the word “green”, has provided me with increased motivation!

I recently made the jump back to a car-free life. It feels absolutely great! I must admit that financial ramifications played a large role in my decision (car insurance here is ridiculous), but a long-term goal of mine while living in Arlington, Virginia had been to reduce my carbon footprint. This is a huge step in that direction.

Beyond fossil fuels, I think an area of the utmost importance is sustainability in regards to food. Not only is it good for the environment to eat sustainably grown foods and sustainably caught seafood, it is better for our bodies. While it is of course not feasible for all of us to eat only organic foods, we can pick and choose in certain areas. It’s all about thinking about what we put into our bodies. Before I took a class on nutrition and food in college, I ate anything I wanted to and I didn’t think twice. Once I started to think about the food, I was eating, though, it became hard to stop!

I subscribe to a few environmental newsletters via my Google Reader, and I thought I would share some of the more interesting information I have come across as of late. Among fruits and veggies, there are many with high pesticide loads, even after washing. That certainly doesn’t sound too appetizing to me. How about yourself? Here is a link to a list of the best and worst fruits and veggies in terms of pesticides (there is even a handy wallet guide). It may very well be worth it to go organic with some of the worst culprits.

http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

I happen to love seafood. I mean I LOVE SEAFOOD! Unfortunately, the way in which most seafood is caught is completely detrimental to the long-term survival of many species. It might be nice to enjoy that fresh seafood dinner tonight, but what about in 20 years? What about our kids, and grandkids, and then their kids? Do we want them to be able to experience the amazing taste of seafood?

The first link I have to share here is a regional seafood pocket guide corresponding to where you live and it can help you make sustainable decisions when you are at the grocery store or when you are out to eat.

http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.asp

Finally, the last thing I would like to share with you concerns a specific type of seafood- tuna. Many of us think tuna tastes great, and it’s a very healthy source of protein. There is always the question of mercury, though, so depending on the expert you listen to, we are recommended to watch our intake of tuna. The way in which most tuna is caught is terrible for our oceans. The tuna at our grocery stores may be “dolphin safe”, but it certainly isn’t safe for the tons of by-catch that come along with the longlining method of fishing. See the two links below for more information on sustainable seafood, and an example of a company that fishes for tuna the right way. As soon as I run out of tuna, I will be making the move to the sustainably caught variety. It may be a little more expensive, but I will certainly feel better come meal time.

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/8/14/93128/6887/?source=most_popular_rss

http://www.pelicanpackers.com/index.html