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If you want to stick it to the man (and reduce your carbon footprint), buy local and eat local.
First of all, get out of Macaroni Grill , California Pizza Kitchen, and (gasp) Sullivan's. You want Italian? Go to Pop's or Cinelli's. You want pizza? Go to Peppers. You want steak? Go to Bin 54 or Angus Barn. All of these are locally owned businesses. Don't get me started on Starbucks! Suffice it to say that there are lots of options for much better coffee.
Second, change your eating habits. Don't buy strawberries in February or tomatoes in November. If you must have these things get them canned or frozen. Better yet, can and freeze them yourself when they are in season so you will have them year around!
Third, simply pay attention to where your food comes from. It is usually on the label. I nearly DIED when I discovered that a tin of gorgeous lump crab meat I bought at the butcher (at least it was Red and White, a local butcher shop) was from China. CHINA? My brain reels at the thought. I wonder what kind of dodgy environmental practices resulted in this can being in the butcher down the block. Not to mention the fact that crabs are basically bottom feeders and I don't even WANT to think about what they are feeding on in the bottom of the South China Sea! Have a bit of mercury and other toxins w/ your salad, please.
Finally, do your shopping at the local farmers' markets. We are lucky to have so many good options. At the Durham farmers' market, you can get fantastic cheeses, meats, and vegetables. It's all local and it's all organic. Sure it's more expensive than Food Lion, but you get what you pay for in terms of quality and freshness. WholeFoods is a travesty to local business compared to Wellspring of yesteryear, but you can find a few local items there: Counter Culture coffee and Celebrity Farm Dairy goat cheese. Come to think of it, I might just join the Durham Food Co-op given how I am anti-corporate grocery at the moment.
I am going to attempt these things over the summer, at least for the fresh groceries I have to buy. I might even try to can some tomatoes!
If every person who could afford it, made an effort to buy and to eat local as a regular practice, the likes of Super Target and Super Walmart would not be taking over the world with their ghastly produce sections!
Excellent advice. I check labels on everything. It's a sad state of affairs when the U.S. has to import food from other countries. I'm a Trader Joe's devotee, but they're importing frozen veggies from China. IMHO if people would stop eating junk they could afford to buy the more expensive healthier produce. Even though we like organic, sometimes it's environmentally better to buy non organic when transportation costs are included. Off my soapbox.
Buying local keeps more money in the region, and helps the local farming community during this time of increased competition and rising land values.
Think about the local coffee shop instead of Starbucks, the small local boutique instead of the department store, the deli instead of Subway, and the local sporting goods store instead of Dick's. Those decisions all help our regional economy.
Kind of along the same lines: someone recently told me about a program where you buy 4 or so months of fresh produce from a local farm. You pay one time and then every week you go down to the local farmers market for pick up. Your variety chances depending on what is being harvested. I was too late this year to do it (I think you had to sign up around Feb. & it fills up fast). PM me if you want the link for more information.
I think it is a excellent idea to get farm fresh picked produce & support the local farmers. I'm a big fan of farmers markets.
I'm not sure if there is a food coop in Chapel Hill but I know there is one in Carrboro http://www.weaverstreetmarket.coop/ that I definitely plan on joining when we find our dream house in Chapel Hill.
I was a member of a CSA (community-supported agriculture) here in MA for the last few years but I don't think I'll join one in NC even though I have discovered that there are several down there as I think I will enjoy choosing my own produce at the Farmer's Market.
I have to find out where I read it, but the gist of a recent report was that these days it almost makes no sense to buy "organic" except for a few vegetables that are on a hot list of those that suck up toxins. The actual difference in "organic" and "non-organic" items has shrunk to almost nothing. In other words Whole Foods etc are making money hand over fist less legitimately than they used to. It was interesting. If I can find the report I'll come back with the link.
A friend of mine up here in MI (I'm moving to NC, hence browsing this forum) wont eat anything that comes from more than 200 miles away
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Buy Locally
