Food...

You, consumer, are the best way to reduce energy emissions caused by food production. Science Daily reported recently that 19 percent of the energy we use is used to produce and supply food—most of this energy comes from non-renewable sources (no surprise there). But, according to a study by David Pimentel and colleagues at Cornell University in New York, we could reduce fossil fuel use by 50 percent by changing what we eat.  

Here are ways to reduce energy with the added bonus of reducing processed foods in your diet and improving your health:

1. Eat less. Right now the average American eats 1,200 to 1,500 calories more than recommended and those calories come from foods that take energy to produce—more meat and processed foods than vegetables and potatoes.
2. Eat organic. If farmers used traditional, organic farming methods, with fewer pesticides, and more crop rotations and cover crops, we’d improve energy efficiency on the supply-end.
3. Eat raw: Eating fewer processed foods could also add to fuel savings, as Science Daily put it, “the most dramatic reduction in energy used for food processing would come about if consumers reduced their demand for highly processed foods” from lighting the processing plants to transportation.

All this energy-friendly eating will boost your health too, need more reasons to eat organic: here they are.

(Originally taken from Fit Sugar.)

Photo from McVitamins.com.