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Global Warming
– What can I do about shopping?
Part 7 in
the series by Janet Fulljames of St. Andrew's Church Taunton
5 August 2007.
Tricia
is writing about
Fair
Trade in her article this month. Ethical shopping includes fair
trade, it takes into consideration the working conditions of those who
produce our food and other goods, and the effect our purchases have on
the global environment. It is this environmental impact that I shall
discuss in this article. Even this is a huge and complex area!
There is
a growing body of opinion that says “cut down on your food miles” and so
cut your carbon footprint when buying food. This might seem obvious -
buy British meat, and local fruit and vegetables.
-
Eat
fruit and vegetables in season – avoid strawberries in November or
April!
-
Support local farmers markets and local shops buying fruit and
vegetables from local suppliers.
-
Eat
less meat. A vegetarian diet generates about half the carbon red
meat produces, this calculation is made from a mixture of animal
flatulence, housing, processing, packaging and the transport
required to get your meat to a supermarket or other shop.
-
Don’t waste food, buy only what you need.
I have
said this area is complex. Carbon emissions can come from energy needed
to produce the food as well as from the transport required to bring that
food to our shops and supermarkets.
-
New
Zealand is arguing its lamb has a smaller carbon footprint than lamb
produced in Europe because less energy is used to rear the lambs.
-
Likewise Kenya has argued its flowers have a smaller footprint than
flowers grown in European greenhouses!
-
So
Spanish tomatoes may be more environmentally friendly than Dutch
ones.
Food is
not only necessary for us as human beings, it is at the heart of our
celebrations, marking the most significant moments in our lives. Eating
and drinking is at the centre of our worship as Christians. Let us
ensure, as far as possible, that what we eat and drink not only does us
good, but let us aim also to see that it doesn’t contribute to the
destruction of our planet.
Shopping
involves more than the weekly visit to the supermarket for food. Our
supermarkets now sell clothes and all kinds of household goods.
-
If you purchase anything made from wood or
wood fibre, including paper, look for the FSC logo (Forest
Stewardship Council). This will indicate the products have been
responsibly sourced. Forests are the lungs of our world, conserving
our forests can help to protect the environment of our planet. It
is possible to check out a particular product
www.fsc-uk.org
-
Try
to shop with out accepting plastic carrier bags, take your own
shopping bag.
-
Encourage shops to produce less packaging, try leaving the cardboard
in the shop when you buy something!
-
When
purchasing a product consider not only the cost, the colour, or the
comfort, but also ask how eco friendly the product is.
-
Remove yourself from the junk mail list. Think
of the trees and energy used transporting what we don’t want or
need! Contact the Mailing Preference Service at
www.mpsonline.org.uk or write to MPS, DMA
House, 70 Margaret St, London W1W 8SS to register.
Many of
these ideas are underlining how the planet’s riches are finite and are
not to be wasted. To take care of the earth’s resources is central to
our faith, we co operate with God in nurturing a world that is good for
everything created by God. (Genesis 1.31 2.15.)
Janet
Fulljames
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Global warming:
should Christians care?
To read the first piece
in this series please
click here. |
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Global warming: is
there anything we can do?
To read the
second piece
in this series please
click here.
|
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Global warming:
what is the church doing?
To read the
third piece
in this series please
click here. |
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Global warming:
what can we as a congregation do?
To read the
fourth piece
in this series please
click here. |
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Global warming:
what is my carbon footprint?
To read the
fifth piece
in this series please
click here. |
 |
Global warming:
what can I do to save energy in the home?
To read the
sixth piece
in this series please
click here. |
 |
Global warming:
what can I do about shopping?
To read the
seventh piece
in this series please
click here. |
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Global warming:
what can I do to reduce emissions from transport?
To read the
eight part in this series please
click here. |
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Global warming:
"reduce, repair, recycle and reuse!"
To read the
ninth part in this series please
click here |
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Global warming:
what next?
To read the tenth
part in this series please
click here |
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