The New Green Diet

We want to feed our families and ourselves healthfully, and we've learned that to do so, we need variety in our diets. This means real fruits and veggies, grains, legumes and nuts, not just a collection of colorful processed products made of the same few ingredients and, increasingly, those that have been genetically engineered.

Doing the right thing for your family -- eating a variety of fresh, whole foods purchased from local farmers -- is also doing the right thing for the nation. The people who grow true variety for us are family farmers, so we need to keep them in business. These farmers care about the future of their land and farm with this in mind.

Yet powerful forces, year after year, are forcing farmers off the land in the name of "efficiency." American agriculture has substituted fossil fuel energy -- to make pesticides and fertilizers, and run machines -- for human beings on the land. Between 1979 and 1997, more than 300,000 family farms have gone out of business. On average, 90% of farm household income comes from activities unrelated to farming. Yet large-scale farms receive twice the amount of government support that small farmers get. In response to market demands for processed foods and animal feed, these farms are increasingly planted with vast acreages of one or two varieties of single crops. This reduces genetic diversity for the sake of uniformity. Genetic engineering (GE) threatens to reduce diversity even more: 50% of the U.S. soy crop in 1999 was transgenic Roundup Ready.

It's time to support farming methods that preserve land, community, variety and the environment. By following these Eight Simple Steps to the New Green Diet, you can make a difference.

8 Simple Steps to The New Green Diet: How to Shop for the Earth, Cook for Your Health, and Bring Pleasure Back to Your Kitchen

The following guidelines can help you make healthier, greener food choices.

1. Eat a variety of foods. Eating a wide variety of foods is the best way to meet all your nutritional requirements, but the proliferating "variety" in supermarkets does not reflect biological diversity. Three species -- rice, corn, and wheat -- supply nearly 60% of the calories and protein people derive from plants. And of 200 crops eaten by humans, only 30 account for 90% of the world's calorie intake.

2. Buy locally produced food. The average mouthful of food travels 1,400 miles from the farm to our plates. Food available from local farms is fresher and closer to ripeness, while using less energy for transport. Buying local products also supports farmers and preserves farmland. Local food is less likely to have been treated with post-harvest pesticides. If you get your fruits and vegetables at a farmers' market or from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, you can ask the farmer whether the food has been genetically engineered or treated with pesticides. To find a local CSA, see the USDA's national database: www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/

3. Buy produce in season. Out-of-season produce is costly because transport uses so much energy. It's also more likely to have been imported, often from a country with less stringent pesticide regulations than the U.S. Instead, in winter, prepare seasonal crops like potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, beets, and parsnips. Put away or freeze spring and summer produce, such as berries or snap peas, from local producers. All these foods retain their nutritional content in storage; using them cuts energy costs.

4. Buy organically produced food. Organic certification guarantees that the product has been grown, handled and processed without synthetic pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, artificial ingredients, preservatives or irradiation. Foods that are labeled "100% certified organic" cannot contain genetically engineered ingredients. Organic certification also means the farmer is promoting biological diversity by rotating crops, conserving and renewing the soil, and protecting water sources.

5. Eat fresh, whole foods with adequate starch and fiber. Whole foods -- fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes (beans), nuts and seeds -- are the healthiest we can eat. The National Cancer Institute recommends we each "strive for five" servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day to protect against cancer, heart disease and common digestive ailments. Also most fresh produce, legumes and whole grains, with the exception of corn and soy, are still genetically natural.

6. Eat fewer and smaller portions of animal products. Meat and dairy products are major sources of fat in the U.S. diet, and contribute to higher risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Animal products, including farmed fish, may contain hormones, antibiotics and organochlorine chemicals, such as dioxin, DDT and other pesticides, which concentrate in animal fat. Fish caught in contaminated waters may contain high levels of PCBs or mercury. Cattle, chickens, pigs and sheep consume more than 70% of the grains produced in the U.S. So it's likely that the meat, eggs and dairy products you buy were raised on bioengineered feed -- primarily soy-, corn-, or cottonseed meal. Modern meat production also consumes water, energy and land. Animal waste produces air and water pollution. And red meat production creates about 3.5 times more greenhouse gases than that of grains. When you do buy meat, poultry or diary, choose organic, which means it has been raised on organic feed.

7. Choose minimally processed and packaged foods. A typical highly processed "food product" may contain little natural food and be high in fat, salt or sugar. It's likely to contain genetically engineered soy- and corn-based additives, such as corn syrup and soy lecithin, which are present in 60% of all processed foods.

8. Prepare your own meals at home. Cooking from scratch can involve a little more labor and a little more time, but you can be sure you'll save money and resources, because you're not paying someone else to prepare, package, transport and advertise your meals. Home cooking is healthier and more nutritious because you start with fresh ingredients. And it can be its own reward, providing a truly creative outlet and rejuvenating the family meal.

* Parts of these Eight Steps are adapted from Joan Dye Gussow, professor emeritus of nutrition and education, Columbia University Teachers College, and Katherine L. Clancy, director of the Wallace Center for Agriculture and Environmental Policy, "Dietary Guidelines for Sustainability," Journal of Nutrition Education, Vol.18, No.1, 1986.