World Sustainable Gastronomy Day

Buy from local food markets, small producers/farmers/fishermen or family businesses. As well as reducing production resources and the greenhouse gases associated with transport, you will be supporting their livelihoods, strengthening communities and helping to boost the regional economy. Look out for local produce on menus when eating out too, as this will also help increase local demand.

The same goes when you are on your travels… eating produce you may never have seen or heard of before will not only give you a better insight into the local culture but will support their local economy as well.

Follow the seasons when choosing which ingredients to buy or what to eat at a restaurant. This will not only help you enjoy better quality produce, grown naturally rather than in artificial or forced environments, but will help shift the buying patterns of your local shops and restaurants. As an added bonus, it might also help you expand your diet by trying new things.

Our ancestors didn’t have access to the resources that we do today, so relied heavily on what nature could provide; thus, culinary traditions are generally quite sustainable. Try cooking recipes that use time-honoured crops and ingredients native to your region. You can help preserve your culinary roots by passing recipes down from generation to generation and keeping your unique culinary culture alive.

Use your ingredients wisely by maximising every part of the produce when cooking and incorporating any excess into following meals – and think about how you might be able to use any leftovers on your plate in subsequent meals too. Staying on top of expiry dates and being mindful of portion sizes are two of the easiest ways to begin saving natural resources.