25 Ways to Eat more Ethically; With Benefits.

What is Ethical Eating?

Ethical eating is the moral consequence one takes related to food choices both for their benefits and also for the animals. Ethical consumption is a type of ethical consumerism adopted by people to tackle common issues such as environmental damage, exploitive labour practices, food shortages, unethical treatment of animals, and fighting the food policies.

Why is Ethical Eating important?

Consumers need to consider choosing to eat ethically. Our food choices can have an immense impact on the food system. This decision can help to make our planet much better. Ethical eating is imperative as it can make a world of difference.

If people start a global movement to boycott a specific product or choose to eat something specific to endorse ethical eating, it can cause tons of difference. Public has the power to affect everyone from the smallest possible level up to the top of the corporate ladder. 

With the increase of your population ongoing, we will end up reaching a population of over 9 billion by 2050. This means that we will have more difficulty in accessing food. Additionally, worsening food security is more of a severe threat to those who are facing poverty. 

Our agricultural system has become more industrialized, making no amends to preserve our natural resources. If we keep on this track, it will lead to severe consequences that our future generations will have to bear. 

From small farms to waterways, everything is being polluted due to industrial farming methods resulting in soil erosion, wildlife destruction, habitat loss, aquatic pollution, and many environmental problems.

To keep our wildlife and habitats preserved, and to make sure our future generations reap benefits from it, we have to try to eat ethically to help save our planet from unwanted consequences.

Here are a few ways to be more ethical in terms of your diet.

25 Ways to Eat more Ethical

1. Adopt Veganism

Some consider veganism to be an extreme life choice. However, it can do wonders for your health and everyone around you. Not just that, but it will also help in protecting the environment and every other animal on the planet.

2. Be cautious when it comes to chocolate.

Chocolate production is one of the most harmful food production processes on Earth. It starts with slavery in sub-standard factories and culminates in environmental destruction.

However, we aren’t telling you to leave chocolate altogether. The sugary boost you need, can come from buying Fair-trade chocolate.

3. Do some Research

Be smart when it comes to choosing what you eat. Do research on your food products to get a broader sense of what’s out there.

Take a minute to understand and decide whether it’s good, not just for you but for the environment and animals as well. 

4. Help out your Local Farmers

It’s time you support your local farmers. Buying directly from farmers’ markets and your local stores to cut down on transport costs and access much fresher produce is the best way to go.

In a way, you’re fostering local economy.

5. Avoid bottled water

Plastic bottles cause as much pollution as plastic bags, so it’s high time we stopped using plastic water bottles. They’re much worse when it comes to landfills. Instead, we should invest in a water purification system or something similar to it.

6. Free-range eggs

Be sure to check that any animal product you are buying isn’t made from unsustainable practices. An example of eggs to avoid would be those from caged hens.

Alternatively, you should start looking out for free-range eggs which are much healthier and kind to the chickens that lay them.

7. Choose Sustainable Seafood

A majority of the world’s seafood catches are unsustainable or illegal. Therefore, be sure to buy seafood products that have been deemed sustainable by the Marine conservation society. This will go a long way towards ocean protection.

8. Cut down on meat intake

The intensive livestock farming (Factory Farming) methods used in producing meat are not only harmful to the environment, but also cruel to animals. 

Therefore, it will be beneficial to reduce your meat consumption as it will be good for your health and your environment.

9. Cook simple

Cook simple meals as much as you can. This will often mean using fewer ingredients and reducing food waste. As you may have known, 1/3 of the food we make goes to waste. That’s a large amount!

Experiment on newer recipes which are simple. If things don’t work out, try and compost that food which you cannot eat. You can also bury it in the backyard where It will automatically be decomposed by bacteria.

10. Eat Low on the Food Chain

If you choose to eat meat, select an animal lower in the food chain. Animals in lower trophic levels of food chains are more abundant than those higher up the food chain.

Therefore, they have a much lower chance of becoming extinct due to over-exploitation.

11. Look for animal welfare or global animal partnership labels.

The highest standard food labels are “animal welfare approved” and the “global animal partnership” label. For these labels to be on your products, producers must carry out ethical treatment of animals at the highest level.

Choosing to buy food products with these labels ensures that you are buying and supporting producers that avoid animal cruelty.

12. Buy grass-fed cow products

For dairy products, look for labels such as “grass-fed”. These labels ensure that the cows producing your dairy products are eating grass and forage only. It also means that they are allowed to pasture and are treated ethically over the farm.

There are many companies engaging in meet-enhancing steroids, over-feeding and locking them up to ensure bulkiness. These practices have spear-headed disease, reduced quality of life and death of cattle.

This is why these labels have been made to ensure that you select dairy products that come from cows treated ethically.

13. Avoid foods containing palm oil

Palm oil production is responsible for an immense amount of illegal logging and deforestation in tropical rainforests worldwide. Although a fraction, these are the reasons responsible for climate changes we are facing today.

It seems complicated to avoid palm oil. However, it will ensure that you aren’t supportive of these unsustainable practices.

14. Start Gardening

Start growing your vegetables is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to eat more ethical. As you produce it yourself, you’ll be assured they will be devoid of any harmful chemicals that are used on farmlands.

15. Start Composting

Once the food waste breaks down, they can become an excellent source to make rich fertile soil. This is why I suggested before; start burying excessive food waste into your backyard. You can also make a compost bin to make compost and then apply it on top of your garden.

The reason you have to bury or seal food waste is because decomposition creates a bad smell and can put off many people from the habit of composting. You can either bury the food waste or compost it and then apply it on the soil surface.

16. Try to avoid budget fast foods

Fast foods are produced cruelly at the expense of the environment and the worker health. Budget fast foods are actually worse in terms of worker compensation, mental health and respect.

The goal of budget fast food is customer satisfaction whereas workers are the ones who should be taken care of. They make the food!

17. Eat at home when possible

Try to eat at home as much as you can. Avoid eating from these fast-food chains.

You can make endless recipes from the internet. You can also have an idea of exactly what’s going into your meal.

18. What’s in your kitchen cabinets?

Look what’s inside your kitchen cabinets. A lot of it will be junk you don’t need; processed food and other food products detrimental to health.

You should give your pantry an overhaul. Remember to keep a greater portion of healthy organic food in your kitchen.

19. Be careful when it comes to soy

Soy, similar to palm oil, is produced in a destructive manner. This causes great damage to the environment. Choose soy from sources that ensure sustainable practices.

Even when choosing soy milk, try and find those sourced from sustainable practices.

20. Eat organic food

Organic food contains much fewer chemicals and other harmful products. They are much healthier for your body as well as the environment.

21. Don’t Waste Food

Try not to waste food; eat as much as you can eat. Don’t cook more than you need, as that may go to waste as well. Every bit of extra food you consume is causing greater harm to the environment and also reducing the food available for those suffering with hunger.   

22. Don’t eat Genetically Modified (GMO) foods

Genetic modification of food has massive potential in destroying the environment; reducing biodiversity, and harming human health. Therefore, it is essential to avoid GMOs at all costs when it comes to ethical eating.

23. Buy hormone-free animal products

What an animal consumes is eventually passed onto you or to the products it produces. For example, higher levels of mercury seen in oceans have resulted in higher levels of mercury in human populations that consume greater amounts of fish in their diet.

Hence, be sure to buy hormone-free animal products so they do not create long-term health implications for you.

24. Give more to Charities

Give as much food back to the community as you can. There are various food banks and food charities that you can donate food to. This will help other people and fosters goodwill throughout the community as the less fortunate pass it forward. 

25. Volunteer

A wide range of organizations are working to promote sustainable and ethical eating. They are always looking for volunteers. You can choose to volunteer with them whenever you have time and fight for the cause.

26. Choose Local Ethical Eateries

If you plan to eat out, find places explicitly stating where they get their food and how they cook it.

Benefits of Ethical Eating

Healthier

Food products sourced from ethically grown and raised animals is considered to be healthier.

Ethical growers allow animals to naturally reach their full maturity before they can be used. In contrast, unethical growers try to force-feed and grow them as fast as possible.

This means that these fast-growing animals are loaded with hormones and often contain various diseases that can harm us humans.

Therefore choosing products from ethical producers allows us to remain healthier.

More Affordable

Ethical food is cheaper in the grander scheme of things.  Ethically-raided food follows the same logic concerning health and moral benefits.

By contributing a few more dollars towards your budget, you can help the global movement supporting higher-quality products and more ethically responsible companies.

Sustainable

Sustainability is the core-value when it comes to ethically raised foods.  Companies that grow sustainably abstain from animal violence or cruelty and try to make minimal harm to the environment.

Choosing these companies means that we appreciate their efforts and allow them to go further and promote their business.