Show food Tips for the worldly shopper You hen you’re shopping to save die planet it’s important to remember that yon don’t have to buy every a at product specialty store You can take at supermarket starting with any steps your next trip And most of the products listed below won’t cost you any more than you’d ordinarily spend You can make a difference at your corner store because these days many companies are eager to please the green consumer Just keep in mind: There are many shades of green and some exaggerated claims Here’s how to be smart about loading your cart: can push environmentalism with your shopping cart Pair Choose paper milk containers over plastic and avoid plastic tubs of butter and margarine (unless you save them for food storage) Pick products wrapped in paper or cardboard Rather than buy individually wrapped cheese slices get a hunk of cheese sliced at the deli counter Always buy eggs in cardboard containers practice restraint We’re notJust talking about saving trees White paper is made white through a chlorine bleaching process which leaves a carcinogenic residue known as dioxin on many of the products If you buy paper products look for those that are recycled or dioxin-fre- e Choose tamwith pons paper not plastic applicators Also buy brown coffee filters Keep leftovers in covered dishes so you can buy fewer plastic bags and wraps And before you buy garbage bags line your trash cans with die bags you’ve brought home Place (William Morrow $2295) recommends buying fruits and vegetables Ask your grocer which products are local (or if they’re still in the local box read the label) “The energy that’s consumed flying produce all over the planet is wasteful” Hollender says Choose loose items not veggies wrapped in plastic or Styrofoam winch aren’t bio- Meat poultry fish In this aisle heavy packaging combined with the high grain water and energy use involved in raising livestock make for tough choices If you buy red meat look for the products with the least amount of packaging (butcher’s brown paper is best) Chicken and fish are better choices than pork and beef because they’re lower on the food chain and their harvesting uses fewer resources Vegetarianism is even kinder to the planet: It takes less than 5 percent of the raw materials used in meat production to grow grains vegetables and fruits 16 USA WEEKEND April 20-2- 2 t990 non-polluti- It’s fine to put essentials like toilet paper and sanitary napkins in your cart But this aisle is a good place to produce department Try to buy as many items as you can here rather than opting for frozen or canned goods It will save on packaging and the energy that goes into processing Jeffrey Hollender author of How to Make the World a Better degradable Avoid plastic produce This department combines products with minimal packaging Many cereals and crackers come in recycled paper boxes Avoid cookies wrapped in plastic Earth Day organizers hope to award that labels soon will steer shoppers in from Joel a green direction Meantime of The Breen Makower Consumer (VikingPenguin $895) here's a brief list of y planet-friendl- products: looks greener than the pouches most food will make it home without them Or ask the store to stock paper bags for small items like grapes Cereals end cookies ‘Green products Paper goods wrappings Produce Nothing Penguin $895) Both are recyclable When buying glass bottles choose die largest (least wasteful) containers Cans tins and jars Cleaning products Look for laundry detergents that are and come in recycled paboxes (gray inside or underneath the per flap) Choose products that offer reusable bottles and refills or use recycled plastic (Procter & Gamble starts using some this fall) Better still make your own household cleansers using less harmful products such as white vinegar baking soda and ammonia For a booklet on how to do it send a stamped envelope to: Toxics in the Home Greenpeace 1436 U Sl NW Washington DC 20009 phosphate-fre- e ed Drinks “Aluminum and glass over plastic is one of the easiest choices green consumers can make” says Joel Makower of The Green Consumer (Viking or When shopping for nuts keep this simple fret in mind: Brazil nuts come from Latin America When you buy them you help save the rain forest in winch they are grown Choose glass ketchup bottles ones cannot be 3ueezeable plastic (There is hope for the future: Union Carbide Corp plans to open the first large multi-plast- ic recycling plant by spring 1991) Miscellaneous deodorant rather Try stick or roll-o-n than spray which damages the ozone layer Choose toothpaste in tubes rather than excessively packaged toothpaste waste pumps Cut back on plastic-bott- le by buying a combination shampoo and conditioner Avoid tools or kitchen supplies encased in plastic packaging Buy rechargeable batteries By Mary Eliln Barrett Rainforest Crunch: A candy and an ice cream made by Ben & Jerry's from nuts grown in the Brazilian rain forest "it's one of the first products created to demonstrate that rain viable forests can be economically without turning them into grazing land” Makower says Forty percent of profits go to organizations concerned with rain forest preservation Melitta or Natural Brew unbleached coffee filters: By avoiding the chlorine bleaching process these filters eliminate the creation of dioxin as a water pollutant and contaminant to the filter GAJLE (Consumer Action to Restore the Environment) products: A new line of household paper and cotton goods They're made from recycled paper using a process Downy fabric softener refill concentrate: An e comes in a cardboard box refill that mixes with water in a used Downy bottle Saves on extra packaging Pillsbury Microwave Cake and Frosting Mix: Unlike other microwave products this brand offers a reusable pan |