Today I want to address the problem I have with all of the different issues competing for priority.   Do you buy locally produced or imported organic?  Fairtrade or the cheapest available?  What about produce that is cheaper per kilo if it is already bagged in plastic?

Clearly, this the best.  Grown without pesticides within 100 metres of my kitchen and no packaging.

Unfortunately, we cannot produce everything ourselves, hence my opening question.

Some bloggers are very clear in their strategy and I admire them for their single-mindedness.  However, I do not not want to be quite as fanatical on any one particular issue but rather to approach the things we do buy with a more holistic view.

Here are some that I read:

Zero Waste Home – as the title suggests
My Plastic Free Life – as per the title
Frugal Queen – frugality first

I have tried to minimise the plastics that we use, particularly single-use items, for many years.

This is one of our stainless steel drink bottles.  I am not saying that we always take our own drinks or that I never buy drinks in plastic bottles.  However, we have got rid of the 15 or so plastic drink bottles that we had acquired over the years and I studiously avoid collecting any more from corporate events and the like.

These are some glass storage jars in my pantry, albeit with plastic lids.  They are old coffee jars which came from my mother.  I do use plastic screw top containers as well in my pantry.  While it would be nice to have everything stored in glass, I would prefer to re-use something I already have than go out and buy more things.  I do not see a significant health risk in storing dry goods in plastic food-grade containers.

I do try to use glass containers rather than plastic for heating and cooking in the microwave.

Despite my best efforts not to acquire any plastic bags over the past 10 years we still have some.  They are used for various purposes, washed and re-used over and over again.  Here are some hanging out to dry.

I buy a lot of our dry goods from bulk bins and store some of them in large plastic buckets.  Here is my new storage cupboard showing the buckets as well as the boxes of plastic bottles that The Duke uses when bottling his home-brew.  There will be doors on the cupboard once they are finished being painted.

First and foremost my strategy is to buy only what we really need.  If you remove excess consumption from your lifestyle then you eliminate a lot of waste immediately.

I buy as much as possible from bulk bins and am constantly looking to source less wasteful options for everything I purchase.  However, I know that quite a lot of this is imported.  The upside is that dried beans for example, weigh less than the equivalent in canned beans, therefore the transport costs (petroleum products) are reduced.

I source meat and fresh produce as locally as possible to reduce ‘food miles’ but do not set arbitrary limits, such as the 100 Mile Diet.  This concept began as a blog in 2005 by 2 Canadians.  I cannot find the original blog but this link explains it.  The idea is excellent and it reminds as all to consider the source of our food.

I take my own containers to the butcher to eliminate plastic bags from that source.

I have reusable mesh bags for buying fruit and vegetables and pay mostly pay the extra for loose produce.

Why organic?  Read here to see which fresh foods are likely to retain the most pesticides.  Consider growing your own if possible or buying organic of at least some of ‘the dirty dozen’.  I do not necessarily follow all of my own advice on this one but intend to re-double my efforts.

Fairtrade?  Coffee – always.  Chocolate – rarely bought so I have not been so diligent.

What about you?  Are any or all of these issues important to you?  How do you decide what is a priority for you?