Choose Ocean-friendly Seafood
People are eating more seafood than ever, and the ocean and its fish are being pushed to the limit. According to the United Nations, approximately two-thirds of ocean species are overfished, and many types of fish farming are highly damaging to coastal ecosystems. Choose sustainable seafood, which is seafood from either fished or farmed sources that can maintain or increase production in the future and don't harm the surrounding environment. Download the Seafood Watch Pocket Guide for your region at montereybayaquarium.org.
Shift Your Shrimp Consumption
Today, nearly 70% of the world's fisheries are fully fished or overfished, and about 60 billion pounds of fish, sharks, and seabirds die each year as bycatch—animals caught accidentally as a result of destructive fishing techniques. For every 1,000 of us who stop eating shrimp, we can save more than 12,000 pounds of sea life per year. Instead, look for shrimp that came from eco-friendly shrimp farms, like Marvesta.
Replace One Beef Meal a Week
Meat production is extremely resource-intensive. Livestock currently consume 70% of America's grain production. Feedlot beef is particularly wasteful. For every 1,000 of us who take this action, we can save more than 70,000 pounds of grain, 70,000 pounds of topsoil, and 40 million gallons of water per year.
Become a Locavore
A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius (such as 100 miles). The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers' markets or grow their own food, with the argument that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locally grown food is also an environmentally friendly means of obtaining food, because grocery store that import their food use more fossil fuels and non-renewable resources.
Buying directly from family farms helps them stay in business and is good for your local economy, and usually farm market prices are lower than those in grocery stores. In addition, the existing system of food transportation and distribution in the U.S. requires enormous amounts of energy and resources. The average food item travels 1,300 miles! In fact, only about 10% of the fossil fuel energy used in the food system is used for production. The other 90% goes into the packaging, transportation, and marketing of the food. Buying locally helps reduce the amount of energy and CO2 emissions emitted during this process.
