“When food is wasted, we’re not just
throwing away food, but everything it took to produce that food is also wasted— the water, the fertilizer and the land.”
–Leigh Prezkop
dioxide and seed clouds. Deforestation to create grazing land may be the single greatest future threat to our climate because forests also sequester carbon and provide a home for diverse flora and fauna.
Make Simple Swaps Prezkop emphasizes that despite these problems with the industrial food chain, changing the way we produce food is also the solution. Te WWF works with suppliers to educate and promote regenerative production practices. On the consumer side, changing the way food is produced can be achieved by changing people’s dietary demands. “We don’t prescribe people to eat a certain way. We do believe
different people and cultures have different dietary needs,” she says. “Te global north eats a lot of meat, so we do recommend a plant-forward diet while still incorporating animal proteins, depending on individual dietary needs.” Merzer argues that we have little control over fossil fuel
burning, but we can control our diets. He promotes plant- based eating as a primary solution to climate change. Changing mindsets about “normal” traditions, such as having hamburgers on the Fourth of July or turkey on Tanksgiving, can be difficult, but achievable with the planet at stake, he says. Sophie Egan, founder of
FullTableSolutions.com and author
of How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices Tat Are Good For You, Others, and the Planet, advises to start small by looking at the foods eaten most frequently and identifying ways to make simple swaps. “If you have toast with butter every morning, that could be changed to a nut butter. A sandwich with cold cuts every day for lunch, that can be replaced with a roasted vegetables and hummus sandwich or an avocado sandwich. You can still eat something in a familiar form, but replace ingredients with lower-emissions options,” she says. If someone is intimidated by switching to an all plant-based diet, a flexitarian option emphasizing foods from the plant kingdom while enjoying meat only occasionally may be more sustainable throughout a person’s lifetime. Her book contains a “protein scorecard” from the World Resources Institute that lists animal and plant sources in terms of greenhouse gas emissions per gram of protein from the worst offenders to the least, with beef (along with goat and lamb) being at the top. Prezkop recommends eating a wide variety of foods.
“Currently, 75 percent of food produced is from 12 plant species and five animal species, despite that there are thousands
22 Central Florida
www.NACFL.com
SCRAP VEGETABLE STOCK
Tose potatoes that start to sprout, the straggler stalks of celery wilting in the back of the crisper drawer or that pompon of green carrot tops can all be used to make vegetable stock. Tis is a very general recipe with plenty of creative license to get more mileage from leſtover vegetables that normally would have been discarded.
Start by collecting vegetable scraps that typically aren’t used—thick asparagus ends, carrot tops and broccoli stems. Even wilted kale or limp carrots that are no longer good to eat fresh, but are still free from mold or mush, can be added. Coarsely chop scrap veggies and put them into a freezer bag. Store them in the freezer until four to five pounds of vegetable scrap have been accumulated.
yield: about 3 quarts
4 to 5 lb vegetable scraps (can include the freezer bag of vegetable scraps, green tops from a fresh bunch of carrots, slightly wilted kale, turnips that are starting to turn soſt or any combination)
2 bay leaves 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed 2 medium onions, cut into quarters 6 quarts water Salt to taste
Coarsely chop all vegetables and add to a large stockpot. (If the vegetables are still frozen, dump them into the stockpot; they’ll begin to thaw during the cooking process.) Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently.
Cook for about two hours or until the liquid is reduced by about half and the color begins to fade from the vegetables.
Let the mixture cool. Strain the stock into a large bowl.
Compost the vegetables, as they are now flavorless; all of the flavors have been cooked into the broth.
Strain broth a second time through a cheesecloth or sieve for an even clearer broth. Salt to taste and portion into Mason jars.
Store in the refrigerator for one to two weeks, or freeze if saving for later use. Courtesy of Sheila Julson.
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