So, What is Your FoodPrint? – Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

So, What is Your FoodPrint? – Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

Yes, that’s right, FoodPrint, not footprint. Though I had heard of FoodPrint previously, I had not given it much thought until we discussed it in our Italian class. It was time for me to do more homework, as I have an interest in climate control and the environment.

The environmental impact of food, FoodPrint, has several factors in its definition; the amount of land required to sustain a diet, the amount of carbon dioxide produced, and whether the food is organic, and local. It includes the resources required to support a healthy diet for one person for one year. Its impact is worth understanding.

FoodPrint is a component of an ecological footprint and often discussed synonymously with an individual’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

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New advances in sustainable agriculture are rooted in regenerative practices based on a whole ecosystem approach. They invest in, rather than deplete, the natural environment by building soil health, clean water systems and biodiversity. It is a sustainable approach that reduces industrial farming emissions and builds environmental resilience. It adapts food production and land to climate change.

Food waste, part of your FoodPrint, is one of the issues and is an enormous problem. In addition to the cost of managing it, waste can lead to pollution and environmental damage. Reducing your food waste is not difficult.

On average, people waste 25% of the food they buy. It consumes resources and is expensive. The average household of four throws away an estimated $1,350 to $2,275 per year in unused food. You can mitigate the waste with such a simple thing such as saving scraps for a backyard compost pile.

One thing I have been doing for many years is to compost, so much so that we rarely have anything to put in the garbage disposal. Composting, whether you’re a gardener or not, is easy.  To start, collect your food scraps to either compost yourself or drop at one of the many municipal composting drop sites in your area. In some cases, the municipality will pick them up.

Composted waste generates significantly less methane than the organic waste that ends up in landfills. When used in gardening or farming, compost provides cost savings while making the soil more productive. Compost creates a nutrient-rich additive to help build soil structure, promote aeration and drainage, and encourage microbial activity.

You can learn what, and how, to compost by obtaining a readily available guide.

Some other strategies you can use to reduce personal food waste include, but are not limited to, eating wisely, cooking creatively, and using all your food, including leftovers.

This is just a start in a complex process, but a good start. With a few changes to the way you shop, cook, eat, and deal with leftovers, you can reduce your FoodPrint and save money.

The way we produce and consume food contributes to global climate change, the effects of which exert an enormous impact on the food system.

Learn about your FoodPrint.

 

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli is the author of three popular memoirs, “Growing up Italian; Grandfather’s Fig Tree and Other Stories”, “What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner” and “My Story Continues: From Neighborhood to Junior High.”  Learn more here.