These days everyone talks about climate change, eutrophication, depletion of biodiversity, and the reason behind all these are the food consumption and method of food production.  There are many issues related to agricultural food production and consumption that significantly affects our environment.

The most commonly heard buzzword repeated time and again is --- sustainability. But what is the actual meaning of sustainable food system?

A sustainable model in the food system that not only upholds the physical health of the public, but it also enhances the economic condition of farmers and producers and our planet earth and its living beings are not over exploited.

This system  makes the most of the earth’s resources for future generations.

Here are few ways that consumers, food producers and legislators can work together to make the food system more sustainable.

1.    Grow local eat local

Local food is food produced locally, as close by as possible.

If  you grow local food in your backyard garden or farm, it will reduce your food miles as the cost of transporting food across the countries is not just exorbitant but it also multiplies the carbon emissions in the transportation process. Support the local farmers and primary producers by  buying food and vegetables from them. This way you are contributing to your community’s economy and also decreasing the impact on Mother Nature.

2.    Eat seasonal food

Eating all kinds of veggies imported from different countries throughout the year is strictly unsustainable. Stick to seasonable buying almost everything locally — and make sure that you get more variety in your diet over the course of a year. This practice will help to reduce your carbon footprint and boost your health.

3.    Do not waste food

Consumers like us should not waste food at home. In fact we should be mindful of our grocery buying.  Businesses, supermarkets and industry should stop throwing out food, instead make donations to charity or other organizations as it will reduce our landfill. This in turn will lead reduce carbon pollution as rotting food in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas. We should all learn to practice composting food at home so that wasted food does not land up in landfill.

4.     Go organic

Organically grown food is one of the best option to make your food table sustainable. Farmers, and primary producers mostly use synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and antibiotics to ensure produce and animals grow – and turnover profit – as quickly as possible. This has a drastic effect on the earth and on animals.

5.    Rotate the growing of crops with different varieties

Farmers should plant different crops every few years to keep the soil healthy. When farmers plant the same crops again and again, they eventually suck the nutrients out of the soil, making it near useless and often necessitating chemical-laden fertilizers.

6.     Choose plant based food and house hold items with Fair Trade Labels

Foods that bear the Fair Trade label have been produced in a way that ensures fair treatment of employees and the earth. So if you’re committed to the sustainable food movement, you should opt for Fair Trade foods whenever possible to support the right kinds of producers.

7. Go for indoor farming like Vertical farming to make the most of every square inch of land.

This will make the agriculture more sustainable and financially viable.

If we follow these simple methods in our food consumption and production we all  can definitely have sustainable food table in our lives and make our earth livable for our future generations.

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