Sustainable September 2016 - Day 4

Good day beautiful people. 

How did you go today saying 'No' to receipts? I had a wonderful day out and about in Canberra. And we must have said no to about 15 receipts. It's was pretty cool. Think how much paper we don't have to get rid of now! How awesome?! 

So we went out to an amazing Tea House and I got spoilt with Chai poached Pears with citrus sorbet, Chai Syrup and a caramel garnish. I got to taste test some amazing loose leaf teas too. So yummy and right up my alley! 

Me at a Tea House in Canberra.
Do KeepCups come in this size? I need a mug like this at home for my tea. Hehehe.

Today the Sustainable September is actually fairly simple. 

Sustainable September Day Four: Look at where your food comes from. 

Consider these questions: Where do you buy your food from? Where does the products and fresh produce actually come from? What is its country of origin? What is its state of origin? How many food miles does your food travel before it gets into your tummy? What is it packaged in? Is it organic? Is it from an environmentally sustainable company? Is it from a local farm? Is it from a farmers market?

The reason I want you to look at this is because if you can reduce the distance your food travels from food to table then you are significantly helping the environment. 

To calculate food miles check out the Food Miles website. For more information about why this is important see below in the "Front Lines section".

Kindness: Buy a meal for another person. 

You can do this in the style of Suspended Coffees at a restaurant. Or ask someone, a friend, family, stranger, a homeless person, if you can buy them a meal. Then do it. It could cost a lot or a little depending on what you are willing to spend. 

Another option is buying a supermarket voucher. It depends on what you want to do. 

You can take further inspiration form this Pizza shop in America:

Front Lines: Food Sustainability movements. There are a lot of people who want to talk about where our food comes from and what we can do to help the environment. 

So here is an explaination about "What is sustainable food?"

Here is a TEDx talk done in the USA by the amazing 11 year old, Birke Baehr. 

He is looking at the current food market and helping kids and adults alike know what is the best way to live a sustainable life. Not only for the people but for the animals and land that is being intensively farmed. 

For those who have had a little more to do with this sort of thing then you may be interested in the idea of Food Justice which Alison Cayne talks about in her TEDx Talk on "What the Food movement can learn from history".

And here is an article from The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia about "The Quiet Revolution: Sustainable Food Movement Flourished in Suburban Backyards"

There are so many things about our food that we do not often think about. Do we know where our meat comes from? Was it prepared using pesticides? What are we really eating? I often struggle with this question. But my family and I are working to know, more and more, where our foods actually comes from. Althought knowing where your food is actually coming from is a huge start to looking to make changes at all.

Our family now mostly order in Bulk (with a bulk buying group) from an organic butcher who gets meat from a local organic farm. It is the closest thing we can get before buying from the farmer directly. We often get other organic food in bulk through the bulk buying group.

If you want to know more about sustainable practices and food you can check out one of the first programmes I ever saw on television about how to set up a Sustainable Farm "River Cottage". Now there is even a "River Cottage Australia". These are shows made for Television but i really enjoy them.

I hope this finds you all well.
With love and kindness,
Daena x