The Green Foodprint: Food Choices for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet

Environmental educator Riebel's updated and expanded follow-up to Eating to Save the Earth is a congenial treatise on the importance of conscious eating. Her equation is simple: wise food choices equal greater personal and planetary health. With appealing can-do spirit, Riebel resists bashing the prime suspects behind global warming, diminishing natural resources, and epidemic rates of obesity and life-threatening diseases. Instead, she describes efforts made by various people, businesses, and public and nonprofit organizations to lighten individual and collective "foodprints"%E2%80%94the toxic waste created by the production, distribution, and consumption of food and beverages. Riebel offers tips and case studies for developing Earth-friendly practices: eating seasonally, purchasing organic whole foods, limiting intake of meat, dairy, eggs, and fish, supporting local farmers, developing a diverse diet, and living sustainably at home, work, and in the community. Some readers may be surprised to learn that simply covering pots when cooking significantly cuts energy use, that soaping hands before turning on the faucet saves gallons of water, and that not stocking up on perishables prevents waste. Most importantly, Riebel makes it clear that even with little time, money, and effort, everyone can do something kind for themselves and the earth by eating smart.