The Hidden Cost of 'Sustainable' Food

Deep Roots vs Green Labels

Have you noticed this too? Every food product these days seems to come with a ‘sustainable’ label. Plant-based burgers promising to save the planet. Over-packaged foods labelled ‘eco-friendly’. Organic ‘superfoods’ shipped from the other side of the world.

To me, something seems off here. While everyone's talking about sustainability, the conversation has become polarised and unnuanced - as so many conversations of our time.

Here's the thing: While we're debating whether oat milk or dairy milk has a smaller carbon footprint, we're missing a much bigger story. The story of how our quest for ‘sustainable’ food has been hijacked by the very industrial food system it was meant to challenge.

When 'Green' Isn't Clean: The Hidden Costs

Here's the thing: Nobody calls a cabbage ‘plant-based’. It's just a cabbage – a humble plant that grows in soil, often right in your local farmer's field.

But a ‘plant-based’ burger? That's a different beast entirely. It might contain processed pea protein from Canada, coconut oil from Indonesia, and methylcellulose from a laboratory who-knows-where, all assembled in yet another factory and shipped frozen across continents.

The uncomfortable truth is this: Many of our ‘sustainable’ food solutions are just industrial food products wearing a new green coat. They might solve one environmental problem while creating three new ones we haven't even thought to measure yet.

I think we're missing the forest for the trees.

Working With Nature, Not Against It

Sustainability isn't about choosing between plants and animals. It's about how our food is produced, who produces it, and how far it travels to reach our plate.

This is what real sustainability looks like:

A farmer who knows every inch of their soil
Animals grazing in rotation to naturally fertilize fields
Vegetables grown in season when they need minimal inputs
Food traveling minutes, not months, to reach your plate
Skills and knowledge passed down through generations

The most sustainable food system isn't about high-tech solutions or global supply chains. It's about human-scale operations where farmers can know their land intimately, where animals and plants work together in natural cycles, and where food connects communities rather than corporate balance sheets.

Here's what fascinates me: When we step back from the marketing hype and look at what actually works, we often find that the most sustainable solutions are also the most traditional ones. They're just harder to package and sell as products.

Deep Roots: What Our Ancestors Knew

Our ancestors knew something we seem to have forgotten: how to work with nature's cycles rather than against them.

Claiming to 'know better than nature' is very much a modern day arrogance of the human species.

What if sustainability really meant:

- Using seasonal local vegetables when they're naturally abundant

- Consuming local meats and using the whole animal, not just prime cuts

- Cooking with stems and leaves, not just the "pretty" parts

- Working with what we have instead of buying prescribed quantities

- Preserving abundance for leaner times

- Reducing waste by reusing, upcycling, and composting

The Consumerist Trap

Somehow, our drive to be more sustainable has been hijacked by the same old consumption patterns. We're still being sold more stuff – it's just wearing a different label.

Take ‘plastic-free’ products. I'm all for reducing plastic, but I question whether buying new bamboo brushes shipped from across the globe really is the answer? Or are we just feeding the same consumption machine with a fresh coat of green paint?

Don't get me wrong – I'm not saying we shouldn't try to make better choices. But maybe the most sustainable option is usually the one already in our kitchen:

The cloth napkins inherited from your grandmother
The glass jars saved from last month's jam
The plastic containers you've had for years
The knowledge of how to cook from scratch

The real sustainability challenge isn't finding new ‘eco’ products to buy. It's learning to be content with what we have, using it well, and buying new things only when really necessary.

The greenest product is the one you already own.

The Convenience Myth

The path to genuine sustainability might be both simpler – and more challenging – than we think. One thing is sure: it requires us to get out of our bubble of consumerism and convenience.

We've been sold this story that convenience equals happiness. That time saved in the kitchen is time better spent elsewhere. (Where? Watching TV? Really?)

Real sustainability often means choosing the less convenient path:

Taking the time to cook from scratch and eat as a family
Shopping at multiple local shops instead of one supermarket
Learning to preserve seasonal abundance rather than relying on imported produce
Building local relationships instead of clicking "add to cart"
Making use of what we have rather than scrambling for ‘the right’ ingredients

Yes, these choices take more time and effort. But they offer something that convenience can't buy:

The satisfaction of creating something with your own hands
The joy of sharing food and knowledge with others
The connection to your local community and seasons
The confidence that comes from real kitchen skills
The peace of mind from knowing exactly what's in your food

Here's what I've learned: When we embrace the ‘inconvenience’ of cooking and caring about our food, we often discover unexpected joys. It's not just about sustainability – it's about reclaiming the pleasure and purpose that industrial convenience has taken away from us.

Beyond Plant vs Animal: Asking Better Questions

We need to fundamentally shift how we think about and interact with our food system, beyond isolated emission numbers and dogmatic theories. The problem isn't plants versus animals. Nature doesn't work that way – and neither should we.

Beyond all the fearmongering, we need to remember: both CO2 and methane are natural molecules integral to Earth's cycles - from photosynthesis to soil building.

The issue isn't their existence, but rather the context and scale: natural cycles working in balance versus industrial processes overwhelming the system. We always need to look at the whole picture rather than fixating on isolated numbers.

The real sustainability question isn't about choosing between plant or animal products. It's about making a point in choosing:

- Natural over artificial

- Local over global

- Whole over processed

- Traditional wisdom over industrial efficiency

- Regenerative practices over extractive ones

These questions lead to more meaningful choices than any carbon calculator ever could. They connect us to nature’s inevitable cycles instead of reducing everything to numbers on a spreadsheet.

Reclaiming Our Food Future: Small Steps for Deep Impact

The most sustainable approach to food isn't about following the latest trend or buying new stuff with shiny green labels. It's about returning to our roots, working with nature's rhythms, and rediscovering the wisdom that kept humans fed for millennia.

The truth is, reclaiming a more sustainable food future isn't about making huge, dramatic changes or buying more stuff with green labels. It's about small, daily choices that reconnect us with our food, our community, and indeed our common sense:

If you are ready to rethink what sustainable food really means, start where you are:

- Learn to cook with whole ingredients

- Get to know your local farmers and shopkeepers

- Master the art of using everything (stems, peels, bones, and all)

- Trust your senses more than ‘best before’ dates

- Build your cooking confidence to work with what you have

- Question whether that ‘eco’ product is really sustainable

- Connect with traditional food wisdom

- Trust your common sense about what's natural and what isn't

The most sustainable food system isn't built in factories – it's grown in soil, tended by hands, and cooked in kitchens.

Remember: Every meal is a choice. Every purchase is a vote for the kind of food system you want to support. You don't have to do everything at once – just start somewhere, today.

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PS. Sometimes the most radical act is the simplest. Like, taking the time to cook real food in your own kitchen.

Categories: : (RE)THINK