5 Hacks to Build More Sustainable Habits

Going green is more popular than ever before, and for good reason.

1. Choose plants over meat as often as possible

Making the switch from animal-based foods to plants could increase the global food supply by as much as 49 percent, without requiring additional land or resources. Plant-based foods slash our water consumption, requiring 50 percent less water than animal-based foods. And putting plants first also dramatically cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Cut back on cheese

Like meat, animal-based dairy products are terribly unfriendly to the environment. Research shows that dairy products are actually the second-biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy cattle even emit the same greenhouse gases as cattle raised for consumption. Because cheese requires a whole lot of milk, it’s one of the worst dairy products for the environment – it actually creates more greenhouse gas emissions than some meats.

3. Ask for paper instead of plastic

Plastic bags are part of single-use plastic’s significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, ask your store if paper bags are available as an alternative.

Paper bags aren’t ideal, since they are still a disposable product that generates more waste. But they’re much kinder to the environment than plastic bags. Paper bags are able to be reused between one and three times – double the reuse options of plastic – and nearly 50 percent are recycled when consumers are finished with them. Overall, paper bags have lower emissions than plastic bags, even after they’ve been thrown away.

*If they do not have paper consider buying a reusable bag*

4. Opt for individual-sized products instead of buying in bulk

Buying bulk is typically assumed to be more eco-friendly than buying individually packaged items. After all, when you buy items in bulk, you’re getting a larger quantity packaged in one big container.

Unfortunately, many bulk items actually increase the amount of packaging you’re purchasing. Each individual item wrapped in packaging leads to more cardboard boxes and more plastic wrap than you’d get if you purchased each item individually.

5. Choose sustainable seafood

Overfishing is a serious problem today – about 94 percent of fish stocks are overfished or maximally sustainably fished. Additionally, a number of seafood is farmed or fished without any consideration of habitat damage, pollution or using wild fish as feed. You’ll want to purchase wild or farmed seafood that’s harvested in eco-friendly ways, with little impact on ocean ecosystems, other wildlife and the environment in general.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program offers a list of the most eco-friendly kinds of seafood you can eat. Some of the most sustainable varieties include arctic char, bass, clams, cod and halibut. Just make sure you’re opting for farmed fish in most cases or avoiding any of the non-sustainable catch options, which are likely to be more widely available at grocery stores.