More and more restaurants are implementing environmentally friendly practices. It’s not always clear, though, which restaurants are doing this.
The good news is you can still make choices that align with your values at almost any restaurant—all it takes is a little understanding of how foods can impact the planet and a willingness to ask questions. Here’s how to order the most eco-friendly items from any restaurant menu.
Look for a restaurant with credentials
One easy way to make eco-friendly choices is to pick a restaurant with a third-party seal of approval for eco-friendliness. The Sustainability Accreditation (for a) Greener Environment (SAGE), for example, is a certification program that recognises restaurants, cafes and catering businesses that demonstrate their commitment to an environmentally sustainable future and to reduce the carbon footprint of their business.
Ask the server
In most restaurants, it’s hard to tell the carbon footprint of a food upon first glance. If there’s little supplier information on the menu, ask your server about the provenance of their dishes – is it produced locally, farmed sustainably, or produced organically? As diners ask more questions, operators will become more aware that their guests are making conscious decisions about what they order.
Order a plant-based item
Of course, when you ask a question you might not always get an answer. In the absence of information about where the products come from, you can always order the vegetarian or vegan option. Factory-farmed meat, which accounts for 95 percent of the meat produced in Australia, degrades the environment. Currently, 50 percent of global pork production and over 70 per cent of global chicken production comes from industrial systems. These factories are having a devastating impact on air and water and are, in part, responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
Choose beans or lentils
Before you pick an item made from one of the trendy new alt-meats, see if there’s anything made from beans or lentils instead. Research from the University of Sydney indicates that greenhouse emissions could be cut by 61% if the world switched to a plant-focused diet. When it comes to the original plant-based protein—beans and lentils—the facts are clear: legumes require less water than other protein sources, and they enrich the soil they’re grown in. A black bean burger is a better choice than an alt-meat burger, and either is better than a beef burger.
Go for the grains
Grains such as rye and buckwheat are cover crops, which help slow soil erosion and improve soil health. They’re also full of nutty flavor and make a great alternative to risotto. When you see these grain-forward dishes on restaurant menus, don’t sleep on them. Remember that soba noodles are made from buckwheat, and many pasta chefs these days turn to interesting grains like rye to put their own spin on the classics.
Pick local vegetables
The notion of “farm to table” has become so cliche that many restaurants don’t even mention the provenance of their produce anymore. But the fact remains that ingredients grown close to home, especially on organic farms, are better for the planet because they reduce an item’s “food miles.” That means there’s less greenhouse gasses emitted to truck them around, and small local farms tend to be some of the best stewards of the soil and land.
Enjoy mussels, clams, and oysters
These delicious bivalves are powerhouses that can actually help clean up the water they’re grown in. They don’t require feeding, there’s no chemicals involved in raising them, and they help pull carbon out of the atmosphere. As marine ecologist Antony Knights told the BBC, “Each mussel can filter 1.75 liters of seawater per hour, and given that they colonise at a density of around 500 mussels per meter squared, it becomes clear how they can have a positive impact pretty quickly.”
There are nuances to making eco-friendly choices when ordering at a restaurant, but there are also more options than some people think. You don’t have to go vegan or conduct a full supply chain investigation to make a positive impact with your choices. With these basics in mind, it’s possible to find an earth-friendly dish almost anywhere you go.
