If You Want to Save the Planet, Stop Buying Organic Food

Russia has a great tradition of natural foods. A huge percentage of the population is directly involved in organic farming.

In Soviet times, county houses called dachas were places where outstanding workers in similar professions could gather to relax. They could fish, they could play games and sports, and they could collect mushrooms and berries. In Nikita Kruschev's time, nearly everyone could aspire to having a dacha, a tiny plot of land on which to grow vegetables to relieve food shortages for the nation. Eventually it became customary to build a small summer house on the land. In the turbulent times of the 1990's, a dacha became a place to grow potatoes, maybe tomatoes, cucumbers, fruit, and berries, all of it entirely organic, and all of it entirely beneficial to the earth. Not only do Russians not use pesticides and toxic fertilizers that have to be hauled in from chemical plants in their garden plots, they eat what they grow. There is no transportation of food that doesn't also serve to transport the humans that eat it.

There is a very different pattern in much of the rest of the world. Organic farming isn't always a benefit to the environment when food is not eaten by the people who produce it.

How can it possibly be destructive to the environment to eat organic foods?

• Organic farming is friendlier to wildlife, but yields are lower. More land is needed, and even organic agriculture displace creatures living in the wild.
• Organic food isn't available everywhere. If you drive your gas-guzzling SUV to the Whole Foods Store or farmer's market in another city, your carbon dioxide footprint increases. It may be that less carbon dioxide is generated by shipping your strawberries from Chile to Pennsylvania than by driving to the market to buy them. And if local production requires growing food in a greenhouse, non-local food may be much, much more environmentally friendly, especially when the energy needed to make the materials to build the greenhouse is considered.

READ Why Buy Organic Food?

• Not everything about genetic modification is necessarily harmful. Organic labeling rejects all genetically modified foods, but some food crops are genetically modified so they use less fertilizer and water. Sure, big farms in America depend on GMO grains that can be grown in fields that are sprayed with glyphosate (RoundUp) to control weeds. It can't be a good thing that nearly all our bodies contain glyphosate as a result. Engineering the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene into grain really does kill migrating butterflies. However, modifying a yellow squash so it doesn't get the virus that causes it grow deformed and mottled green after the plant is bitten by a stink bug, or modifying a plant so it needs less water or makes better use of sunlight, is not inherently environmentally destructive. 

Of course, if you really want to eat naturally, enjoying all the benefits of organic food, while reducing your burden on the planet, you can always do what millions of Russians do. Keep your own organic garden. Till your soil by hand. Tend your plants every day. Love your land and it will love you back. But if a dacha is not in your future, what do you do?

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint at the Supermarket

The imminent environmental crisis for Planet Earth is rapidly increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If you want to help preserve the planet, reduce your role in making more CO2. Here are five ways to lower your carbon footprint when you shop for food:

1. Eat less meat, especially less red meat. In North America, raising, slaughtering, and distributing meat from cows and sheep requires enormous amounts of fossil fuels. The amount of carbon dioxide generated in providing you with a kilogram (2.2 pound) of lamb is the same as driving your car 93 miles (150 km). The amount of carbon dioxide generated in providing you with a kilogram of beef is the same as driving your car 63 miles (97 km). Eggs, nuts, and tofu require just 5 to 10 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions as red meat.

2. Cook your meals at home. You will save money on food and fuel and you will generate less carbon dioxide. Cooking at home is more work but you have greater control over the ingredients in your food and the flavor of your food, and you will save money.

3. Plan your meals. Don't wait until it's time to make dinner to see what you have. Make a list of the meals you want to have and the foods you need to prepare them so you don't waste food, which also drives up your carbon footprint. Families in the US and UK waste about one-third of the food they buy.

4. Cook smart. A gas oven only uses about 6 percent of its energy to cook food. An electric oven is slightly more efficient. About 12 percent of the energy used by an electric range actually cooks food. Microwave ovens waste less energy and, surprisingly, destroy fewer vitamins and plant chemicals in the process of cooking. Overall, a microwave oven uses 50 percent less energy than a conventional electric oven and 75 percent less energy than a gas oven. Eat raw foods as often as possible. Avoid preheating and reheating. Cook on the stovetop in a Dutch oven. And, especially if you are American, get an electric kettle for boiling water. It's faster and uses less electricity.

READ Foods You Do Not Have To Buy Organic

5. Save water. Pumping and purifying water takes enormous amounts of energy. It's more energy efficient to wash dishes in the dishwasher than to wash them in the sink, but it's important only to run the machine when you have a full load. Use filtered tap water for drinking and cooking rather than bottled water. Turn off the tap when brushing or shaving, turning it back on only when you need to rinse. 

What else can you do to reduce your burden on the environment when you shop for food? Buy in bulk. Less packaging requires less energy. Avoid impulse purchases. You will save money and calories and reduce your carbon footprint. Avoid frozen food. Keeping it frozen requires lots of energy. And please don't buy bottled water.