Econscious

With Natalie Penn

The Animal In Us

The food choices you make may be supporting conditions you would not approve of. Become aware of the origins of your food.

Find alternatives to meat
A total 60 billion animals a year are used for food (excluding fish). Raising animals for food uses precious energy and water. By eating four fewer serves of dairy a week you can save 26,000 litres of water and cut greenhouse pollution by up to 500 kilograms a year.

Choose fish wisely
The number of local fish species classified as over-fished by the Bureau of Rural Science, Fisheries, rose from five in 1992 to 24 in 2005. Avoid eating farmed fish as these often need fish caught from the wild to feed them ‘ one to 12 kilograms of fish meal produces a kilogram of aquaculture fish. See marineconservation.org.au for the sustainable seafood guide. Try to buy local produce from a reputable fishmonger.

Social conscience
As little as 3cents from a $3 cup of coffee will reach the farmer who grew the beans. Fairtrade farmers, including those in the Third World, get a fair and competitive rate for their beans. Some coffee plantations can be a threat to the environment as some have replaced rainforest. Look for the Fairtrade logo to support farmers whose coffee and chocolate help conserve forests, don’t use child labour or chemicals and give the farmer a fair price.

Consider animal welfare
Each year 47 billion meat or broiler chickens are killed and 5 billion laying hens live in cramped battery cages. More than 1 billion pigs are reared for meat, many in confined environments. Intensive farming practices produce cheap milk, meat and dairy but the animals suffer. Know the origins of your meat. Ask questions.

Free range
Battery cages will be banned in the European Union by 2012 but in Australia battery hens each live in less space than an A4 page. Unable to exercise or peck food, they can barely spread their wings or build a nest. Look for free range eggs or organic eggs where hens are fed ingredients free of antibiotics and hormones and are raised under strict humane conditions.

Check ingredients
Palm oil is a major ingredient in most margarines and one in 10 products, including chips and biscuits. It often comes from plantations created by clearing forests inhabited by rare species. Animal welfare groups predict the palm oil trade could cause the extinction of the Asian orang-utan within a decade.

There is power in your purchases. Your daily decisions can make a world of difference.