Questions tagged [food]
substance consumed to provide nutritional support for humans and animals. Use this tag for questions on the sustainability aspects of food in general. See also [meat],[fish],[cooking]
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What's the best use for pig fat (lard)?
We have two Tamworth pigs coming back from the butcher tomorrow with a decent amount of fat (don't know how many pounds yet). What are the best and/or most economical uses of pig fat or lard?
I'm not ...
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Distinguishing between polyethylene and polypropylene plastic food packaging for recycling
I want to recycle as much food packaging plastic films as possible (I'm willing to clean and dry them). As far as I know, food packaging films are only made from 3 types of plastic: polyethylene (PE), ...
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Is a fish based diet most sustainable?
It is in the news (paper, writeup) that a study has just come out that some seafood, particularly small wild pelagics such as mackerel, herring and pilchard (eg. Japanese pilchard = 0.498 kg CO2e per ...
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Can Hydroponic products be termed as organic food?
Hydroponics using NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) is heavily dependent on inorganic nutrients. However, modern marketing jargons term the food produced as organic and business model as sustainable.
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How can we detect if a water melon contains artificial colouring?
Recently I heard at the market that water melons are injected with artificial colouring to make them look fresh and attractive, even though it is very harmful for anyone who consumes them.
Is there a ...
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How do I choose the most sustainable chocolate?
I've heard that the production and import of chocolate has some consequences including deforestation, excessive use of pesticides and CO2 emissions. There are also concerns about exploitation of ...
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Why does cheese have such a high carbon footprint?
(Source of information here)
As you can see, cheese has the third highest carbon footprint. Only beef and lamb have a higher footprint.
Several other sources (such as this) corroborate this.
Why is ...
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Does grass-fed beef have lower carbon footprint than feedlot-finished beef?
I have read this article of 2019 and still don't understand which one is better (climate-wise). Grass-fed beef involves more belches and produces less meat but seqesters carbon in grass. But what's ...
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Freezing Ice Pops Sustainably
When storing ice pops for retail customers, I need to package them in a freezer-safe ,clear wrapping. I would like for it to be compostable, but apparently the compostable cellophane options are not ...
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What is the impact of ongoing research of turning plastic into proteins?
I found this story regarding ongoing research of using bacteria to turn plastic into protein:
The team demonstrated that once the plastic is broken down by heat and a reactor, it can be fed to the ...
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What is the most sustainable way to handle food waste...throwing food scraps into garbage or down my sink's garbage disposal?
Every night when I wash dishes, I either throw food scraps down the garbage disposal or throw it in the trash.
Is it more sustainable to throw food scraps down the garbage disposal? I think things ...
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When this label is used, can you recycle the carton's cap?
Usually, when recycling, I see cartons with labels saying to "empty and replace cap." However, labels such as the following lack such a notice:
When placing the carton in the recycle ...
The Editor
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Is there any efficient and small-scale compost heat recovery(CHR) system?
I want to develop a system mainly based on compost heat recovery technology.
Much research has already been in the past years and some good DIY designs established for farms to warm greenhouses. But ...
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How much more sustianable is breastfeeding than formula feeding?
Today, breastfeeding is recommended for all newborns due to the health benefits for both the infant and the mother. In addition to health benefits, it is cheaper than formula feeding, and once ...
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What is an environmentally-conscious replacement for white yogurt?
I am looking for an environmentally conscious replacement for white yogurt. I do have a couple of ideas for foods that could work well, but I have very little clue if they are a better choice from the ...
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How can a purely vegan diet be the most sustainable?
There seems to be a growing consensus, that the vegan diet is the most sustainable for our environment on multiple levels, such as land use, water use and CO2.
There is some debate about whether ...
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Alternative to paper towels for draining fried food?
When frying food, what's a good alternative to paper towels for soaking up/draining excess oil?
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Can mealworms form part of a healthy diet in the UK?
Mealworms for birds are a cheap form of nutrition. Could they be processed at home in a way to make them healthy?
Dried mealworms are sold as bird food for just under £8/Kg in the UK or $3/Kg from ...
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Which has a smaller footprint -- canned or frozen vegetables?
When fresh vegetables aren't an option, many sources indicate that frozen vegetables are generally better than canned (see here, here, and here, for example).
However, how do the environmental ...
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What is the environmental impact of meal kit subscriptions (Blue Apron, etc)?
According to Wikipedia, a meal-kit is...
...a subscription service that sends customers pre-portioned food ingredients and recipes for them to prepare homecooked meals.
Well-known examples include ...
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Is human energy efficient?
I spent 2 weeks traveling on my bicycle, and usually I was very hungry.. Since I ate a lot of food, I asked to myself if maybe a train (dividing cost between all passenger) was more green than me!
I ...
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Will Koolatron cooler cool warm stuff?
We don't have any electricity, so we're thinking of purchasing this Koolatron cooler.
Most of the drinks I put in it (refreshment cans, water bottles, etc) will be warm/room-temperature.
Will it ...
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Doesn't it make more sense to wrap hot sandwiches with the foil facing in?
You know those hot sandwiches sold in grocery stores (northeast USA at least...) that are wrapped in a foil paper? Wouldn't it thermally make more sense to have the shiny foil facing in? To keep the ...
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How to dispose ultra-processed food?
A friend of mine just recently started avoiding any ultra-processed food because of health concerns. However he already had some in his storage room and some have passed their expiration date.This ...
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Is boxed wine more ecofriendly than bottled wine?
In a few weeks I'll be hosting an event and will need to purchase wine for about 30 or 40 people. For myself and my partner, I typically purchase boxed wine as it stays fresh longer (assuming the wine ...
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Biodegradable Food Packging
I am trying to figure out an application for a biodegradable packaging material a found out about. It is made from old or used potatoes or corn starch. I was thinking of using it in Pizza boxes to ...
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What kind of nuts are eco-friendly?
I'm vegetarian but I need a high-protein diet. I was eating a lot of beans but they're not so great for my digestion. My belly really prefers nuts instead.
I know a lot of veggies eat cashews, but ...
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Alternative to bananas in Europe
If you buy bananas in Europe, they usually come with a high CO2 level, since they are mostly produced overseas.
Is there a fruit produced in Europe which comes quite close to bananas in terms of ...
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What are examples of perennial crops?
I just read this fascinating article on kernza, an alternative to wheat that is a perennial, rather than annual, crop. From the article, "Can This Breakfast Cereal Help Save The Planet?", this is ...
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How should I store fruits and vegetables in the fridge?
I currently use plastic food containers like those in the below picture of different sizes.
Is it better (in terms of energy consumption) for the fridge?
Should the containers be sealed or not?
...
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How to ripen fruit fast without harmful chemicals?
I want to know that how I can ripen fruit as fast as possible. Fruit sellers are using chemicals to do that which is harmful. I would like to know if there are any safe chemicals or other techniques ...
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Is "buying local" sustainable, with reference to food made from animals?
No doubt vegetables, fruits and salads produced locally in most cases provide local jobs and usually best fresh quality. On the other hand a lot of animal food (soy, corn, and others) are shipped ...
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What type of cheese has the lowest carbon footprint?
An answer to a question about the carbon footprint of cheese inspired this question.
According to Wikipedia, cheese can be made from the milk of several animals:
cows
goats
sheep
buffalo
reindeer
...
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Which ecolabels take the whole life cycle of food products into account?
Many ecolabels that certify certain sustainability aspects of food products only consider a small portion of the food product's life cycle.
A prominent example may be the MSC label which addresses ...
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Subsistence hunting and fishing in Alaska?
My entire family and I are all planning to move to Alaska in early April, and I'm looking for areas where it is closer to be able to do subsistence hunting and fishing, with land we can buy to build ...
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If everyone were to be vegetarian, what would be the carrying capacity of the Earth?
I'm not asking what will happen if everyone in the world suddenly turned to vegetarianism. In an ideal world with the current population, can everyone follow a vegetarian diet (except for people who ...
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Is cheese as bad as beef for the environment?
Among foods, beef is frequently noted as one of the biggest causes of global warming, particularly because cattle produce methane as part of their digestion. Cheese is less frequently discussed in ...
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Is there any case where plant farming is more eco friendly than raising livestock?
I am looking for an example or a case with arguments that would justify converting cattle ranches into plant farms (e.g., wheat, apple, or anything non-meat). The advantages should be in a more ...
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What are some leguminous food trees suited for a Mediterranean climate?
I can think of carob, which already grows in the area.
What other kinds would be a good source of nutrition and thrive in a Mediterranean climate with little annual rainfall?
Other tree suggestions ...
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What are the ecological effects of buying "imperfect produce"?
I have seen a few sites such as imperfectproduce.com, fullharvest.com, and hungryharvest.com. They sell food that they claim would otherwise go to waste because it would be hard to sell through ...
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Corn after humans
None of my farmer friends who grow corn for a living seem to have an answer for this. After an event that wipes out all/most human life, how long would fields planted with food corn be expected to ...
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How to make extracts and fragrances from fragrant plants like Sage
I'm looking to try using more natural products/solutions in our day to day life and some things that I am considering are fragrances, soaps and essences (food). I have read that Sage plants are edible ...
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Seaweed snacks without lots of packaging
My kids like seaweed snacks but there’s so much packaging. Alternatively I can buy crackers or raisins in large packages, reducing both the cost and packaging (plus if the package is cardboard it’s ...
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Is the Food Cycler a good option for composting?
I do not have time to do a good job composting so the "Food Cycler Platinum Indoor Food Recycler" seems like a good idea despite its price. Does it release CO2 or methane? Does it consume so much ...
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Any food and grocery buying systems that lead to less food waste?
I am not asking for specific diets or reducing plastic waste. Many people may not want to change their diets.
How do people buy food so that they throw away as little food as possible? There must be ...
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How can people afford to be self-sufficient and sustainable?
One thing I constantly battle with is money and affording to be more self-sufficient. Don't get me wrong – I earn good money, I have managed finances and a few debts but this post isn't really about ...
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What do I feed my snails?
So I've recently gotten into foraging and found a site called eattheinvaders.org that encourages people to eat invasive species. One of the most invasive species here in California is the common ...
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What feed is typically used in cricket farming?
Insect farming has been hailed by some as a sustainable alternative to animal agriculture because the requirements for land and water are much lower.
But just as livestock depend on plant food that ...
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Carbon footprint of soy milk versus cow's milk
I am wondering about a specific carbon footprint comparison (i.e. total global warming potential per litre) between soy milk and cow's milk.
This would of course depend on where and how they are ...
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Using other peoples resources for basic living
For at least a few weeks, I've been living using others resources. I do not own a cellphone and have no expenses except my car insurance. I'm currently using my car for sleep and transportation. For ...
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