ALL ABOUT FOOD: ‘Green’ steps to take in the kitchen, life

Lately, most of us have been trying to keep our footprint green, in big or small ways. The problem is there is no definitive guide to help us do this.

Even the seemingly obvious issues are fraught with complexity. For instance, which is better: an organic papaya from Costa Rica or a non-organic peach from Fresno? Normally, we think local is better. Maybe not always! If the imported organic papaya came on a fuel-efficient boat, it may have used less energy than highly fertilized non-organic peaches trucked from a hundred miles away.

“To know for sure, you would have to know everything from the fuel efficiency of the truck, to the kind of fertilizer that was used, to the kind of ship the papaya shipped on,” says Susan Burns of the Global Footprint Network. Another example would be a locally grown organic greenhouse tomato vs. a tomato from a far-off warm climate because of the 20% more energy needed to run the greenhouse.

Did you know that the average supermarket product travels 1,500 miles to reach the shelf? Did you know that food packaging uses more energy in production than the food it contains? For example, much of the fruits and vegetables in our beloved Trader Joe’s come in hard plastic containers to prevent them from damage.

These issues may not seem so important when compared to industrial pollution or the consumption of fossil fuels but in fact, the food sector, from seeds to scraps, accounts for about 25% of America’s ecological footprint. So choosing what we eat may be as important as choosing how we transport ourselves.

In our research, we discovered a fascinating website that will calculate your ecological footprint with an entertaining interactive quiz. Elle took it, and she doesn’t eat red meat or dairy, doesn’t drive much or far, recycles, shops for produce at the Laguna Beach Farmer’s Market and buys very few processed foods and still according to this survey, if everyone lived as she does, it would take 4.3 Planet Earths to sustain this lifestyle. We recommend visiting footprintnetwork.org, take the quiz and browse the site for all kinds of interesting information and tips.

We learned that rotting food is another ecological concern because it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that impacts global warming. As you probably know, cows are also a serious source of methane gas. Every cow produces 800 to 1,000 liters of emissions every day. In Argentina, (one of the world’s biggest beef producers, with 55 million cows) several very brave scientists are strapping plastic tanks to the backs of bovines to trap their gas and measure it as part of a study to change cow’s diets from grain to clover and alfalfa, improving their digestion and thereby reducing methane emissions.

This leads us to the issue of eating red meat. The carbon dioxide impact of a pound of beef can be 250 times as great as that as a pound of carrots. One easy way to diminish your personal impact is to eat less beef. Lamb is better than beef, and pork is the best choice as pigs are more efficient eaters and their meat yield is greater, or buy vegetarian Boca burgers. They taste like beef.

What else can we do? Eat seasonal foods that do not need greenhouses or long periods of refrigeration. Local is generally still better and the farmer’s market is the best choice. Planet-wise, organic is better because it eliminates the high-energy costs of pesticides and fertilizers. Compost if you can to reduce methane from rotting food.

Break the packaging habit. Buy loose produce and ask the butcher to wrap your selections in paper. When asked if you prefer paper or plastic, say, “Neither!” Bring your own reusable bags when you shop. It’s a good idea to bring several to separate fragile produce or eggs for example, from cans, bottles etc. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s sell insulated bags for cold food. Their thickness also provides padding for delicate foodstuffs.

The most radical approach is to become a freegan and Dumpster dive!

A vegetarian meal once a week is not only good for the planet, it’s good for your health. Here is a simple recipe that the whole family will enjoy and you can get creative by adding what you have in the refrigerator or whatever appeals to you from the Laguna Beach Farmer’s Market.

SUMMER SPAGHETTI

Serves four to six

 6 tablespoons olive oil

 6 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed

 ½ pound crimini mushrooms, quartered

 1 tablespoon lemon juice

 1 tablespoon, sherry or Marsala (optional)

 12 mini sweet peppers quartered lengthwise (or one yellow pepper,

cut in strips)

 1 can small white beans (15 ounce), drained and rinsed

 ½ teaspoon crushed red chili pepper

 5-ounce bag, baby spinach (optional)

 3 large fresh tomatoes, diced (peel tomatoes if desired by dropping in

boiling water for one minute)

 1 teaspoon, balsamic vinegar

 ¼ cup fresh basil

 1 pound, spaghetti (try light spelt spaghetti)

salt and pepper

1. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a large sautè pan on high heat. Add the mushrooms and mini peppers. Cook for 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and sherry. Cook one minute. Add beans, garlic and crushed chilies. Cook one minute, then add spinach and cook until just wilted. Turn off heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Chop basil and combine with tomatoes, vinegar in a bowl and salt to taste.

3. Boil pasta in 6 quarts of water, 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 tablespoons salt until al dente, then drain. Put in serving bowl. Toss with 3 tablespoons oil.

4. Unless serving later, add tomatoes to vegetables in pan and heat. Mix into pasta and serve.

5. If not serving immediately, cook pasta for 90 seconds less than recommended. Add tomatoes and pasta to vegetable sauce and reheat when ready to serve.

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years. They can be reached for comments or questions at themarkos755@yahoo.com