More plants in your kitchen is good for the planet.
5 minute read
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Eating a diet with a high variety of foods is talked about a lot in regards to personal health, but rarely from the perspective of biodiversity. Increasing the range of foods in your diet promotes biodiversity in agriculture, which is beneficial to the planet.
For me, it’s an important topic, the inflection point where my curiosity for food and my concern for the environment meet!
Setting the intention to add new fruits, vegetables, funghi, pulses, nuts, seeds and grasses to your diet is important for plant biodiversity, so decisions you make in the kitchen can have a wide-ranging positive impact. When we talk about thinking globally and acting locally, this is one easy way to contribute.
Despite there being over 500,000 edible plants in the world, three-quarters of the global food supply is made up of only four crops. Wheat, rice, maize and soybeans. That’s problematic for many reasons. These crops require intensive pesticide use and they’re very water intensive. They are essential crops, but serve as an example of how narrow the focus of commercial agriculture is.
Farms with lots of different plant species are healthier. This is particularly true for farmers who engage in modern techniques like regenerative farming or permaculture practices. We promote crop diversity by increasing the demand for diverse fruits and vegetables in the choices we make when doing our weekly grocery shop.
So much about climate change feels out of our individual control. After we’ve switched to renewable power and fossil-free superannuation funds, it can sometimes feel hard to know what to do next. One next step can be the choices you make every time you do your grocery shopping.
The single most important thing you can do to combat climate change as an individual or family is to eat less meat. By adding more variety of plants, you can work towards reducing the amount of meat in your meals. This is also a way to add new, exciting flavours and textures to your cooking. It can feel easier said than done, though, which I experienced when I transitioned to a mostly plant-based diet two years ago.
All this can sound daunting, and begs the question: how do we do it?
Like all meaningful change, you should start where you are. Don’t feel like you have to make sudden and drastic changes to how you shop and eat. Take baby steps. Buy one new fruit or vegetable the next time you go shopping. Pick something you’ve never tried before, get comfortable preparing and eating it, then add another one! I’ve recently started doing this and I’ll be sharing recipes and tips for how to use new and different ingredients. Please let me know how I can help, too.
Supermarkets tend to make decisions about which fruit and vegetables they stock based on shelf life and how easy they are to transport. As a result, they tend to have a limited range of options. Instead of going to the supermarket, visit your local green grocer. Find out when your next farmer’s market is on. If you’re feeling adventurous, visit your local asian or african grocer, they always have the most amazing vegetables and herbs! Make sure to ask them for tips on how to prepare and cook with them, too. Play your cards right and you might be lucky enough to be entrusted with a family recipe!
Don’t limit your exploration to fresh produce, either. A good place to start is by cooking or baking with different types of flour or sugar. Larger supermarkets increasingly stock ingredients like buckwheat flour, coconut flour, or spelt. These are all good options.
If you’re worried about filling your cupboards with half-empty containers of different things, then consider your local bulk-food shop. These are treasure-troves of by-the-weight ingredients. If you’ve never cooked with buckwheat flour, say, just go and get what you need for the recipe you’re planning to make, so there’s no leftover ingredients filling your pantry. Like green grocers, these shops also tend to be independent, locally-owned businesses, so you’ll be benefiting your community by supporting them.
Adding more biodiversity to your kitchen can really contribute to the health of the planet, and your health, too. I’m really keen to hear your thoughts - what fruit, vegetables or ingredient have you always wanted to try but are intimidated by? I’ve always wanted to try cooking bitter melon, but I’m a bit daunted by it! I’ll take your recommendations, then share recipes and tips on how to prepare them.