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Eating Greener Without Becoming Vegetarian: Start by Asking Where Dinner Came From

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  Eating Greener Without Becoming Vegetarian: Start by Asking Where Dinner Came From Hook: “Before asking whether your dinner is green, perhaps ask how far it travelled to reach your plate.” There is a problem with some conversations about environmentally responsible eating: they become an argument about labels. Are you vegetarian? Vegan? Flexitarian? Organic? Locavore? For many people, that immediately makes the subject feel more difficult than it needs to be. Eating more sustainably does not have to begin with announcing that you will never eat another bacon sandwich or Sunday roast. It can begin with something much simpler. Turn over the packet. Read the label. Look at the country of origin. Ask where your dinner actually came from. Then ask a few more questions. How was it produced? Is it in season? How much packaging surrounds it? Has it been heavily processed? Are we going to eat all of it? And, perhaps most importantly, is there an alternative that costs less as wel...
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Walk Yourself Greener: The Journey That Costs Nothing and Needs No Electricity

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  Walk Yourself Greener: The Journey That Costs Nothing and Needs No Electricity Perhaps the greenest vehicle you own is the pair of legs you've had all along. When we talk about greener transport, the conversation very quickly turns to technology. Electric cars. Charging points. Batteries. Public transport. E-bikes. Hydrogen. Sustainable fuels. All of these have their place. But there is another form of transport that needs no battery, no petrol, no charging cable and no expensive upgrade. Walking. It sounds almost too obvious to be worth discussing. Yet that is precisely why I think it deserves more attention. Going green is often presented as something we have to buy . Walking reminds us that sometimes the greener choice involves buying absolutely nothing. And unlike many environmental choices, walking can give something back immediately: better fitness, time outside, opportunities for photography, conversations with neighbours and a chance to notice what is happening in...
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Going Green Should Save You Money—So Why Does It Sometimes Feel So Expensive?

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  Going Green Should Save You Money—So Why Does It Sometimes Feel So Expensive? Going green isn't fundamentally about buying greener things. It's about needing fewer resources to live well. There is something slightly odd about the way environmental living is sometimes presented. Decide that you want to become greener and, within minutes, somebody appears to be trying to sell you something. A new electric car. Solar panels. A heat pump. A home battery. Triple glazing. An expensive “eco” cleaning product. A smart thermostat. Perhaps even an almost completely rebuilt house. Add it all together and going green can begin to sound less like a way of saving money and resources and more like a hobby for people with £50,000 available for a home-improvement project. That creates a serious problem. Because if environmentalism becomes associated with spending large amounts of money, many perfectly sensible people will conclude: “I can't afford to be green.” Yet in many cases, the exac...
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