Food Choices & Purchases

As I learn more about the environment and related issues the more I realize how connected the many parts of our lives are.  One area I have been reading on and learning more about lately is food and agriculture.  In my efforts to live in a more Earth-friendly way I have been trying to reduce packaged and processed foods from our diet.  This began because I simply wanted to reduce the amount of packaging we were recycling or throwing away.  I've tried to replace these items with unpackaged produce and bulk bin purchases for which I can use my own bags and avoid packaging waste.

An added benefit of purchasing unprocessed, packaged foods and produce has been that I've learned a lot about cooking and how to use these items in various dishes, and about the effects that different foods have on our bodies.  There are many, many foods in the world and I'm just beginning to learn about them but even in a short amount of time I feel that my worldview of food and food production has been greatly changed.  In addition to the culinary uses and health effects of food, I've also learned a bit about the impact that different farming methods and products have on the environment, and directly or indirectly our health as well.

Some things that are of import to Americans I wanted to share, since it seems that we often think that eating more healthy or more organic is prohibitively expensive.  I certainly thought this way but have found that eating more healthy has been a minimal increase in cost, if any increase at all.

1. We spend a far smaller amount of our income on food today than in the past
1. In total, Americans today spend 15.3% of our income on food, compared to 40% that we spent in 1949.  In other words, if we paid about 3 times the price we currently pay for food we would be paying a comparable amount to what our grandparents paid for food.
2. Compared to other countries we spend very little of our budget on food purchases
1. For the average American household, food accounts for about 6% of all our purchases during the year.  (This differs from the 15.3% above because that figured is in total and the 6% is calculating food expenditures on an average household basis.) The US has the 12th highest GDP per capita in the world, $48,100 per year.  
2. Compare this percentage of income to a much poorer country like South Africa, which has the 105th highest GDP per capita, $11,000 per year, but where food accounts for 20% of purchases.  Or India, where food accounts for 35% of expenses and the GDP per capita is $3,700 a year - 163rd globally.
3. In fact, the US spends the smallest percentage of income on food of any country in the world, while being one of the most wealthy countries.  Although it makes sense that food is a somewhat fixed costs in terms of quantity (a person can only eat a limited amount of food) it is telling that our food costs are about half of an average European country which have similarly high income per capita.  For example, Norway has a higher GDP per capita, $53,300 (8th highest globally), but spends 11% of their budget on food.
3. The percentage of our population that is obese continues to increase
   As of 2009-2010, over one third (35.7%) of American adults are obese.
   

Although these figures vary somewhat between different studies and sources the overall picture is clear. We spend very little of our income on food purchases, and our health continues to be severely damaged by preventable diseases related to obesity (heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer).

In the future I plan to write more about food and how we are trying to improve our eating habits. Food and health are complex issues with many variables to consider, but eating more unprocessed foods is a simple first step to better health that has been enjoyable for us so far.

 to Honeycrisp

Switching from Golden Crisp . . .

Planting is a Habit - Budgeting for Nature

Budgets bring to mind spreadsheets, bank accounts, and reducing expenditures.  At their root, I believe budgets are a tool we use for accomplishing a goal.  Whether that goal is to reduce our weight using a food budget, to save for a vacation, or pay off a mortgage budgets can be useful to ensure we stay on the right path to meet our goals.

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Commentary:

Over the past few years I have developed an affinity for plants and working in the yard / garden / alley / apartment.  At some point along the way Amelia decided we needed to put a limit on how much to spend on plants so we created a plant budget.  (I admit I was not a proponent of this plan but life, and especially marriage, is full of compromises.)  We decided on a budget of $30 per month on plant purchases and any unused balance could be rolled over to the following month to allow for larger purchases like trees.  We've adjusted this budget over time and today it is $50 a month - the increase is partially because we have been able to reduce our food bill by growing a garden and partially because I have pitiful puppy dog eyes.

I wasn't very excited when we put the plant budget into place but my view has changed over time.  At first I looked at the budget as a limit on what I could spend on plants, which it is.  But it is also a commitment to regularly making an investment in our yard and garden.  Now we have a monthly trip to the nursery, farmer's market, or garden store and can plan for what we'd like to grow in our garden or what flowers would look good in the front yard.  It's good motivation and a reminder to think about the outdoors and engage on a regular basis.  I'm looking forward to when Eva can help us pick out which plants to try and help with watering and seeing them grow.

Another benefit of having this regular commitment to investing in our yard and garden is the opportunity to try new things.  We probably wouldn't be inclined to try planting borage or yarrow in our garden on a whim - I still don't know what they are going to look or taste like.  However, since we had extra funds in our plant budget last month we picked up these plants for a couple of dollars each and now can learn how they grow, what they look and taste like, and how well they do in our climate.  It's a learning experience in addition to being a part of our yard to enjoy.

If you're looking to learn more about plants, gardening, or landscaping I highly recommend creating a monthly budget / commitment to spend a set amount on plants each month.  Whether it's $5 or $100 a month it's a great reminder to get out in the yard and enjoy the weather.  Making regular visits to the nursery will also teach you a lot about the seasons what should be planted when.  If it gets too cold in the winter you can try something for indoors - an herb for the kitchen or trailing plant for the mantle or windowsill.

Another reason I think it's important to make a regular commitment to plants is to remind us of their importance.  We all rely on plants for food, air, shelter, many of our goods like furniture, to clean our air and water, and for many other purposes and uses.  Despite all that plants do for us I think we know relatively little about the plants that surround us in our own corners of the world, as well as plants that exist in other parts of the world.  Despite the importance of plants to all of us I think in general we spend very little, if anything, on helping plants to thrive and learning more about them.  Especially when compared to the amounts we spend on cable and other discretionary purchases I think spending a comparatively small amount on plants provides a handsome return of knowledge and enjoyment.

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Suggested Action Steps:

1. Create a monthly plant budget
2. Spend your monthly budget at a local nursery or garden store
1. Consider native plantings to attract local wildlife to your yard
3. Enjoy the fruits of your labor in the form of fruits and vegetables, shade, a quieter yard, or more birds and squirrels

Here are a few of the recent additions to our yard.  Thank you to Seeds in the City and City Farmers Nursery here in San Diego for these plants, and for all the information you've shared with me and others!  If you live in San Diego you have to take a trip to City Farmers - it's an amazing place with so many plants (and animals!) to see and learn about.

Bush Monkey Flower (California Native) 

Basil, Mexican Elderberry (California Native), Eggplant - Rosita variety (Puerto Rico)