Have you ever heard of sustainable gastronomy?
You may have never heard it.
But if you have been following me for a while, you will know that I always talk about the importance of listening to Mother Earth when it comes to feeding ourselves and this is a bit about that.
Because it is a concept that refers to a type of cuisine that takes into account the origin of the ingredients.
And the way they are grown how they reach the markets, and finally the plates of every home or restaurant.
Every year, June 18th is celebrated as Sustainable Gastronomy Day, and that is why I have decided to write this article and explain a little more about this type of cuisine.
The celebration of this day was proposed by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) and supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
To raise awareness of its importance and the role it plays in caring for and respecting the environment.
>IMPORTANT: at the end of the article I am going to give you a gift that will be of great interest to you and that will help you contribute to sustainable gastronomy and, therefore, to caring for the environment.
So keep reading until the end so you don’t miss it.
Let’s get started!
👉 What is sustainable gastronomy?
To fully understand what sustainable gastronomy consists of, we must begin by understanding each of its components.
This concept is based on the union of two others: gastronomy and sustainability.
Gastronomy refers to the relationship between human beings and food and nutrition, taking into account the natural and cultural diversity of the environment.
That is, the native ingredients and traditional recipes of a place, the customs or culinary preparation techniques.
Sustainability, for its part, is about ensuring current needs, but without wasting resources, so as not to compromise the possibility of meeting future needs, or harming the environment.
So, as I was saying at the beginning, sustainable gastronomy is synonymous with a type of cuisine that cares about the origin of food and the impact that its production has on the environment.
It also supports responsible food consumption, sustainable food production, and the conservation of the planet’s agro-food biodiversity.
👉 How you can contribute to sustainable gastronomy
Knowing what sustainable gastronomy is all about is great, but what’s great is helping to achieve its goal.
Don’t worry, even if you haven’t heard about this topic before, I’m sure there are little things you do in your daily life unconsciously that help with this.
And if not, don’t worry because you’ll see how easy it is to do.
So if you agree with everything that sustainable gastronomy advocates and you want to do your bit, you just have to change some habits in relation to the way you cook, buy, or consume food.
Take note of these 3 simple tips that you can start putting into practice today:
✅ Consume organic products (whenever possible)
I know that eating organically grown foods can sometimes be difficult because they are more expensive.
And each person’s circumstances are different.
But you know that I always recommend doing it as much as possible.
And not only because they are much better for your health since they are not loaded with pesticides, but also because consuming them contributes to caring for the environment.
Because its production is more sustainable than that carried out in conventional agriculture.
And much more environmentally friendly practices are used, thus reducing air, water, and land pollution.
Furthermore, this type of agriculture respects biodiversity, which is another pillar of sustainable gastronomy.
That is to say, organic products are not only beneficial for you, but they are also beneficial for the environment around you.
It’s all the advantages!
✅Buy local and seasonal products.
It is also extremely important to contribute to the goal of sustainable gastronomy by purchasing local or nearby and seasonal products.
This way you will be doing the smartest thing, because you will be eating the foods that Mother Earth gives you, and she always knows what you need.
In addition, seasonal products retain all their nutrients and properties to the maximum, because they are grown in optimal conditions.
So you’ll be consuming them at their peak.
By consuming local products, you will not only be helping the local economy and the subsistence of farmers and producers in the area, but you will also be contributing to the care of the environment.
Because?
- Because transporting products from other countries and places (by plane, truck, boat, etc.) involves a large expenditure of energy, especially fossil fuels. The same happens with their conservation in cold storage, or with the use of plastic packaging.
- In addition, biodiversity and support for native species are promoted.
✅ Reduce food waste
I have always been very aware of this issue.
This is something that worries me a lot, as the figures for food that is wasted and thrown away are very worrying.
We are talking about the fact that almost a third of the food produced worldwide is wasted every year.
Around 1.7 billion tonnes.
That’s why I think it’s very important to raise awareness about how to handle food waste.
And let each one, in whatever way they can, doo their part to help reduce these figures.
For my part, I am one of those who takes advantage of everything.
Not only what is about to expire or go bad, but also everything that can be eaten and that most people think is not.
I assure you that if you set your mind to it, it is possible to feed yourself without compromising the environment, our lifestyle o,r that of future generations.
And to help you with this goal, as I promised you at the beginning of the article…
I have a gift for you!
A few months ago I asked the entire Cooking for Change community to send in their recipes and ideas for using up leftovers, to help them not waste food so that together we could create an ebook to always have on hand.
So after a few months of collecting all the recipes…here it is!
➡️ Inside you will find a ton of recipes and more than 30 ideas that will help you make the most of leftover food and not throw anything away.
So you can start putting these ideas and recipes into practice today.
And thus contribute to one of the most important objectives of sustainable gastronomy: avoiding food waste.
I hope you enjoyed the article and that the ebook we have prepared with so much love is very useful to you.
