Building a Sustainable Kitchen

Table of Contents Foreword by Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament, Leader of the Green Party of Canada Introduction My Journey to Building a Sustainable Kitchen Understanding Sustainability Understanding Climate Change Why Food and Kitchens But Does Individual Action Really Matter? How to Use This Book The Journey Begins Chapter 1: Food Waste What Is Food Waste and Why Does It Even Matter? What Food Waste Costs Us What Food Waste Costs the Planet What You Can Do Take Stock: Build Awareness of Your Food Waste Habits Take Stock Again: Check In with Your Fridge, Freezer, and Pantry Regularly Plan Ahead, at the Store and at Home Understand Best-Before Dates Improve Your Food Storage Habits Table: Consumer Best Before Timetable Be Mindful of Food Waste Beyond Your Dinner Table Takeaways Chapter 2: Low-Waste Cooking What You Can Do Learn to Cook Intuitively with What You Have Get Comfortable Substituting Use Foods in Their Entirety Find ""Anything Goes"" Recipes That Work for You Repurpose Leftovers to Create Something Even Better Takeaways Chapter 3: What We Eat The Impact of the Global Food System Plant-Based and Animal-Based Foods by the Numbers Chart: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Across the Supply Chain Beef and Other Ruminant Animals What About Local or Sustainably Raised Food? How About Packaging? Chart: Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Food Production What About Fish and Seafood? What About Dairy The Prominence of Animal-Based Foods in Society The Impacts of Plant-Based Foods What You Can Do Shift Toward a Plant-Based Diet Take stock of Your Starting Point Invite Your Loved Ones into the Process Set Reasonable Goals Start with What's Easiest for You Learn to Cook with Plant-Based Protein Prioritize Progress over Perfection and Reflect on the Process Takeaways Chapter 4: Local, Seasonal, Organic Eating Local Eating Seasonal Why Eat Local and Seasonal? Eating Sustainably Looks Different in Every Climate Eating Organic What Makes Food Organic? Is Eating Organic More Sustainable? What You Can Do Reframe How You Think About Local and Seasonal Food Visit a Farmers' Market Near Your Subscribe to a CSA or Local Food Box Buy Your Animal-Based Foods Local and Organic Find Your Region's Unique Ways to Source and Support Local, Seasonal, and Organic Takeaways Chapter 5: Grocery Shopping The Principles Behind Sustainable Grocery Shopping What You Can Do Create a Reusable Grocery Shopping Kit Find a Bulk Bin Store Near You Shop at a Zero-Waste Grocery Store Buy in Bulk to Save on Packaging Visit Individual Local Businesses Subscribe to a Food-Saving Produce Box Shop more Sustainably at a Conventional Grocery Store Bonus: Apply These Principles to Everything You Buy Takeaways Sidebar: Does Sourcing Food Sustainably Cost More? Chapter 6: Composting How Does Composting Work? Why Composting Helps Create a More Circular System What You Can Do Use Your Curbside Organics Collection Program—and Use it Well Advocate for an Organics Program Near You Choose a Home Composting Option Bonus: Understand Compostable Plastics—but Keep Them out of Your Compost Takeaways Chapter 7: Recycling A Brief History of Recycling What Is Mechanical Recycling? Which Materials Recycle Well? The Challenge of Recycling Plastic Types of Plastic—and How They Affect Recycling The Economics of Recycling Plastic The Challenges of Composite Plastics Understanding Recycling Labels Our Obsession With Recycling What You Can Do Go on a Recycling Tour Follow the Waste Hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Then Recycle Use the Recycling Services Available to You—and Use Them Well Do Your Homework for Hard-to-Recycle Items Takeaways Chapter 8: Garbage Defining Waste A Brief History of Garbage The Grim Reality of Landfills Linear Versus Circular Systems The Zero-Waste Hierarchy What You Can Do Replace Garbage with Landfill in Your Vocabulary Take Stock: Do a Kitchen Garbage Inventory Make Less Garbage Consider Your Garbage Bag Takeaways Sidebar: My Experience Making Less Garbage—and the Limits of Individual Action Chapter 9: Disposables and Reusables Are Reusable Items Always More Sustainable? The Zero-Waste Hierarchy: Zooming In on Refuse and Reduce What You Can Do Refuse: Use Up What You Already Have—and Then See What Happens Implement the Zero-Waste Hierarchy in Your Kitchen The Waste Hierarchy Categories Learning to Think Zero Waste Aluminum Foil and Pans Dinnerware Drink Receptacles Paper Baking Products Paper Napkins Paper Towel Plastic Wrap of Cling Wrap Plastic Zip-Top Bags Straws Wax Paper Takeaways Sidebar: Share What Your Have Chapter 10: Plastics What Even Is Plastic? When Was It Created? What Happens to Plastic Once It Becomes Waste? Microplastics, Chemicals, and Us Why Avoid Plastics What You Can Do Take Stock: Do a Plastics Inventory in Your Kitchen Reduce and Avoid Plastics Moving Forward Takeaways Chapter 11: Coffee and Tea The Environmental Impacts of Coffee The Environmental Impacts of Tea A Sustainable Morning Cuppa What You Can Do Buy Coffee and Tea That are More Sustainable Take Stock: Clean Up Your Home Coffee and Tea Routine Deliberately Reject Disposable Coffee Culture Takeaways Chapter 12: Gardening Building My Sustainable Garden What You Can Do Start a Garden Take Care of the Soil Say No to Synthetic Pesticides and Fertilizers Harvest Rainwater Don't Buy a Bunch of New Garden Stuff Consider End-of-Season Practices Bonus: Rewild Your Green Space Using Native Plants Takeaways Chapter 15: Water Water Use in Canada What You Can Do Waste Less Water When You Cook Put Thought into Your Drinking Water Check Your Kitchen Sink and Tap Consider Your Dishwashing Habits Takeaways Chapter 14: Cleaning What You Can Do Take Stock: Do an Inventory of Your Kitchen Cleaning and Dish Products Opt for Greener Cleaners Try Cleaning with Household Ingredients Evaluate Your Dish Soap Evaluate Your Cleaning and Dishwashing Supplies Takeaways Chapter 15: Appliances Appliances and Energy Consumption Renewable Energy What You Can Do Use the Appliances You Already Have More Efficiently Check for Phantom Power Buy Large Appliances That Are Energy Efficient Buy Small Appliances and Kitchen Gear Sparingly and Thoughtfully Repair Your Appliances Implement the Waste Hierarchy for End of Life Takeaways What’s Next? Building Sustainability Beyond the Kitchen Sustainability in an Unsustainable Culture The Most Sustainable Actions Are Not Always What They Seem Individuals Can Make Sustainable Choices, but Systems Need to Catch Up Sustainability Is an Ongoing Choice What Is the Most IMpactful Action You Can Take From This Book? What More Can You Do? The Future Is in Our Hands Acknowledgements Resource List Bibliography List of Interviewees List of Figures Index