Eat Eco-Friendly Food

                Food is everything to all human beings. Yeah of course it is!  Not only can it give us energy to do our daily activities and keep us alive, our food also has enormous impact on the life of animals and plants (the latter is surely no less important than the former!).

            At first, I don’t really notice that what we eat does matter until a couple weeks ago my environmentalist friend forwarded an article through email talking about “how our food choices could save the earth”.  Once I read it, I just realized how significant our concern over food choices to environment and the earth is. So, I tried to figure out more about what I can do with my food on the plate. From a lot of articles I read, I listed the 3 most possible things to do for me in starting green living to food. 

1. Minimize Meat

                The FAO report in 2006 stated that red meat production has a bigger impact on global warming than all the planes, trains, buses, and cars on the planet combined. Wow, it’s so shocking! Moreover, another study said if we want to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, it’s way better to give up red meat than to buy a hybrid car.

            I've been thinking to start to minimize meat consumption as possible as I can since it significantly help the environment. Hmm.. It doesn’t mean I wanna be a vegan instantly. It’s not easy to change an eating habit and even I haven’t been ready to become completely vegan. But, at least, I can try to cut back on the meat in my diet by only eating plant-based food a day or two each week.

            Talking about plant-based food, in Jakarta there are some restaurants which serve this kind of food. One of well-known restaurants is Loving Hut. They serve all dishes which are cooked without meat, seafood, eggs, and milk. I’ve visited them once and I think their foods are nice. 

2. Buy Local Food

                Buying food from local suppliers will also support sustainable environment. Why? Transporting food long distances uses too much energy so if we purchase food produced locally, we help to eliminate the need for all that fuel-guzzling transportation. Another benefit of buying local food is to help local farmers and local economy as well. 

3. Organic Food

                In the past 10 years, there has been an increase demand in organic food.  It’s commonly known that organic food contains no chemical fertilizer, pesticides and preservatives. Yes! Organic food is certainly good for our health. Most importantly, organic food is also better for environment. Did you know organic farming practices can help decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air? And did you realize that organic farming use less energy? 

           
         Okay, I admit organic food is way more expensive than conventional food. But why don’t  we try to being organic at least one day in each week too? Small change still can make big impact. I really believe in that! Hehehe

            So, where can we buy organic food in this town? As far as I know, some supermarkets in Jakarta supply organic food. A best example is The Food Hall, whose branches are located in several malls in Jakarta.  At The Food Hall, you can find certain organic products such as soup, cereal, juices, jams and honey, pasta, biscuits, and other items. Another well-known place to have organic food is Organic Vegetables owned by Melly Manuhutu, an artis from 90s era. This shop is located in Pejaten Barat, Jakarta Selatan. In this place you can buy a variety of organic vegetables with affordable price. They say this shop sells cheaper fresh vegetables than the ones in supermarket! Hmm.. I have to prove it by myself soon!

Okay, let’s start to eat eco-friendly food from now on! :)