Eating Green: Where You Eat is as Important as What You Eat
What you eat matters a lot to the environment, but people who are environmentally concerned also need to look at where they eat. The most environmentally friendly meals are usually the ones served at home, but what if you like to go out. A look at some considerations.
Fast Food Places
Fast food places are one of the worst places to eat in terms of thinking of the environment. Some fast food places make food they know they will not sell, just to have food ready when people come in. Most of all look at the container your food arrives in. Often a Styrofoam box. Some fast food places are now using cardboard, or paper containers, but those still go to the landfill, usually in plastic bags.
To reduce your environmental impact when eating at a fast food place, try brining your own reusable mug for drinks. Do not take more packages of ketchup, etc., than you need. Ideally reduce the number of times you eat at fast food places.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabrielamadeus/3402378549/ This food was found in a dumpster in Portland.
Drive Thru
The drive thru is typically always less environmentally friendly than going inside to order. Not only is the food placed into an additional bag, but cars often sit idling for long periods of time while ordering and receiving the food. Drive thrus may waste things by giving you napkins, ketchup, plastic knives and forks, and so forth, that may not be needed if you are going home to eat.
To reduce your environmental impact, its best to park and go inside to get your food, and make note of what you need and do not need if you are going to take the food with you. Again, using your own reusable mug is best.
Take Out or Delivery Pizza
This might surprise you. This particular food item is fairly environmentally friendly. Although the oven being used is bad, they typically cook many pizzas at any given time. Most use cardboard boxes, which can be recycled. As most Pizza places of this nature do not have large seating areas the building has a lower space impact on the environment.
To reduce your environmental impact, pick pizza from a place that is close to your home to reduce emissions from delivery vehicles. Arrange to pick up your own pizza on route as you drive home from work.
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Great points. Nutrition is a hard topic to write about, but you make it seem effortless.
useful and interesting article
Great Sharing 
Constructive and Good!!!
That’s certainly an interesting way to look at it!
Very nicely done. I didn’t know you could bring your own reusable cup. How can you found out if a restaurant is environmentally friendly? Is there a site?
Love this piece of article
Great share!! interesting and well expressed…
nice share
Great article! Very informative with excellent advice. Thanks for sharing.
Ususally restaurants will advertise the fact that they are trying to help the environment. Like the Eco Cafe I mentioned, they really let people know what they are doing, their menu informs you that they support local markets, farmers and producers.
Interesting piece…well written….
A new perspective on eating green – I had never thought of restaurants in terms of dish washing
I always bring my own travel mug for coffee, but in most places my cup doesn’t fit under the spout, so they take a paper cup to fill my cup with. When I see this, I usually ask to use the paper cup for water.
At pricy restaurants, the waste comes from their desire to show you the luxury of generous portions. Fast food gives you the luxury of freshly made food. Most of this waste could be given to the homeless, but it would require coordination to get food to where it is needed before it spoils and makes someone sick.
Dumpster diving is an option, but not a very safe option. Eco friendly restaurants must be a fairly recent option, or local – I’ve never heard of them.
There is a lot that we could do for the environment – if we could put up with some inconvenience and a little extra effort.
Great article, B.
I love anything that has a salad bar, You can always find healthy food there.
All of these reasons, and the great food is why I love the ECO Cafe, one of my favorite resturants in the world, not just where we live. Thanks for taking me there on Monday
I love buffets but I eat only those that I can finish. I don’t want to waste food having some left over at my plate. Thanks for this!
to make a point…. even if you finish what is on your plate at a Buffet, the fact is the Buffet still has a lot of waste because of they make so much more extra to make a nice selection
I enjoyed this article very much, I dont get out to eat,so I pretended to be out at a fine buffet meal .
I watch the homeless here and they know where the best places are to go for a rubbish meal, they know so well the waste that is dumped.
This is an interesting post. To some eating is all that matters and for others it’s the body curves that deserves the credit. For me a clean place to eat matters of course.
the topic is really interesting and also a very related one on our daily lives.
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Excellent article. I really loved the tips you have given. Eating green is definitely innovative and something that each one of us has to follow.
great pics, very relevant
