Cooking to Fight Climate Change |
The good news is
that food does not need to be a threat to sustainable development - it
can be one of the solutions. Sustainable cooking is vital in the fight
against climate change, and can contribute to Sustainable Development
Goals, or SDGs, the world's blueprint for tackling poverty, inequality,
and climate change by 2030. More people need to understand the power
they have behind food-related decisions, and make choices that respect
their bodies and planet.
The links between
hunger and climate change are well documented. For example, climate
change leads to more extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods
and storms, all of which can destroy crops and critical infrastructure,
according to the World Food Programme. Nearly 800 million people are
undernourished, and one of the most devastating impacts of climate
change is that it could drive that number up. This month, we marked
World Food Day, which set a bold goal to end hunger worldwide.
At the Sustainable
Development Goals Fund (SDG Fund), we are working in 23 countries to
achieve the SDGs, and food is often right at the center. Sustainable
food practices are not only helping keep our bodies and the planet
healthy, they are boosting local economies, reducing poverty and
ensuring gender equality.
In Ecuador, for
example, we worked to strengthen local food systems by encouraging
practices that help with climate change adaptation, such as using
organic fertilizers and diverse crops, and avoiding carbon emissions by
limiting energy consumption and reducing water use.
In Fiji, where more
than 44 percent of youth are unemployed, we teamed up with UN agencies
to create jobs by strengthening local organic agriculture. We know that
organic systems are more resilient to climate change; they retain 20-40
percent more topsoil, and have better yields during droughts than
conventional farms.
In Sri Lanka, we
collaborated with the local government and UN agencies to revise the
school curriculum and educate schoolchildren, teachers, and others about
nutrition, addressing a longstanding problem of malnutrition among Sri
Lankan children. And in Peru, we assisted more than 4,200 quinoa
producers with everything from negotiating market prices to setting up
systems that allowed them to increase exports of these popular grains.
This was particularly helpful for the female producers in rural areas,
who account for 69 percent of the producers.
But you don't have
to be a farmer or live in these countries to get involved. Anyone can
start employing sustainable cooking methods to help fight climate change
right from the kitchen. Here are 12 simple tips to get you started:
To reduce energy
consumption, don't pre-heat your oven. Only open the door if you really
need to, as each time you do that, the temperature significantly drops.
Use cookware that retains heat well, such as that made of cast iron, ceramic or glass.
Use water more efficiently by not letting the faucet run; you can wash your fruits and vegetables in a bowl of water instead.
About a third of
all food produced - or 1. 3 billion tons of food yearly - is wasted each
year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations. Help lower this number by planning your meals ahead and
thinking about how you'll use your leftovers.
Get creative about
how you reuse your water. For example, you can cool the water you used
to boil your pasta, then water the plants with it.
Plan seasonal menus. By using produce when it's in season, you will not only make your meals more tasty, but save money.
Avoid processed
foods. They are not only bad for your health, they are bad for the
environment. They tend to use a lot of packaging, which you should avoid
buying, and reuse whenever possible.
Get gardening! Plant herbs such as parsley, basil, and mint in your backyard, on your rooftop, or your windowsills.
Shop local. By
visiting local farmers' markets, you can buy local products that don't
have to travel as far to reach you, while also supporting the local
economy.
Check product
labels; food that is transported across the world often requires more
additives and preservatives, and less healthy.
Boil, grill and steam food instead of frying it to ensure healthy nutrients are preserved.
Become aware of
your CO2 emissions, also known as your carbon footprint. For example, a
vegetable diet has a lower footprint than an animal one as livestock
produce requires a lot of greenhouse gases and resources for feeding.
Tools such as the Nature Conservancy's carbon footprint estimate can
teach you more about your carbon footprint, and allow you to make
contributions to offset it.
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