Eat Food, Mostly Plants

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How to take action

• Set some goals. A sudden radical shift in eating can be daunting for you and your household. Start by making manageable goals that reduce the packaged foods in your diet and increase the plant-based foods. If you can't think of what to eat, you can start by reading recipes in natural food cookbooks, perusing the produce section of the grocery store for new foods, or calling your grandmother for suggestions.
• A great place to begin making changes is to cut out packaged snack foods, opting instead for fruit, or homemade and whole grain snacks.
• Don't fill your cupboards with instant foods or you will be drawn to them. Have fresh, whole foods like nuts, fruits, veggies and whole grain baking readily available for snacking, until you get into the whole foods habit.
• Make a certain number of meals vegetarian each week, or each day. Once you get started, you'll see the options and flavours are endless.
• When you are shopping for food in grocery stores, select most of your items from along the outside edges. This is where they have produce, meat, fish and cheeses. The rest of the aisles in almost all grocery stores are used for processed foods.
• If the food is in a package, read the label. The longer the ingredient list, the longer you should wait until the next time you buy it. Many food items can seem similar, but aren't the same in terms of nutritional value and content. For example, live plain yogurt is a very different food from sweetened or diet or otherwise processed yogurt-like products that might share the same shelf. If you don't like it plain, add a spoon of homemade jam or some maple syrup to your serving. That way you know and can control the added ingredients.
• Aim to reduce your consumption of factory made canned foods and opt instead for foods you preserve yourself.
• Learning to cook, or experimenting with new dishes and ingredients, can increase the variety of your meals, inspire you to get creative – and healthy – in the kitchen, and it's a great way to learn about local and seasonal food.
• Find restaurants that serve healthy meals made with fresh whole ingredients. Many do and they don't always cost more than fast food places, especially not when you factor in the costs to your health and the planet.
• Whenever possible, shop at farmers' markets and produce stands to find fresh local produce.
• Grow some food. Even just a few pots of fresh herbs on a windowsill can inspire you to cook more dishes from scratch.

Why it makes a difference

• Packaged and processed food generally takes more energy to produce, more fuel to ship, and produces more waste materials.
• In almost every case, the closer what you consume is to a whole food, the better it is for your health. Whole foods go through fewer mechanical processes, have fewer non-nutritious additives and sit on the shelf for less time before you purchase them.
• Many processed food products contain high levels of salt, refined starches and sugar, including ingredients some consider to pose health risks, such as high-fructose corn syrup. These foods can provide a short burst of energy but then a corresponding low that can actually rob you of energy, as the body works to absorb the refined sugars.
• Whole foods can often be sourced locally, supporting your local growers and producers and reducing the carbon footprint of your food. Supporting local food producers also helps boost the food security of your region, and the local economy.
• Reducing meat consumption can reduce your carbon footprint. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has reported that livestock production and transportation is responsible for more climate change gases than global motor vehicle use.
• Reducing meat intake and replacing it with fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans means the body takes in less saturated fat, more fibre and more antioxidants.

For more information

• Learn more about food culture and its importance. Michael Pollan's books In Defense of Food and Food Rules are great places to start. Watch a speech by Michael Pollan about our relationship to the ecosystem.
• Buy yourself a natural foods cookbook and start to experiment.