By Jeannine Re McNamara
A famous frog once said, “It isn’t easy being green”,
but maybe he was mistaken. People are realizing how much easier green eating is on our bodies as well as the environment, and the overwhelming popularity has increased the availability of green products, as well. But the whole “Going Green” revolution isn’t a completely new concept. It actually started way back in the 1970’s with such books as “Diet For a Small Planet” (Lappe’ 1971) and “Recipes for a Small Planet” (Ewald 1977). These books were based on the premise that meat production had a big negative impact on the environment and the energy used to feed and raise one Steer could produce far more vegetarian protein sources and feed a much larger population while improving their health. More recently, the concept that started almost 45 years ago has been expanded upon and given the term “Green eating”. Green eating is the practice of choosing healthy, natural unprocessed foods, which benefits our health and our environment. Eating green can lower your weight as well as your risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Fresh foods require less energy for processing and contain fewer pesticides, helping to protect the air, land, and wildlife from harm. Purchasing fresh local grown foods cuts back on the gas and emissions from transporting foods grown elsewhere,
as well as supporting people in your own community. So although we may not literally be “green” a la Kermit, following some basic principles makes keeping our world green pretty easy.
