It's Earth Day, and the earth is appearing.
The last of the dirty snow banks are receding, revealing soil, grass and growing sprouts of spring bulbs and day lilies. Tired of winter's coating of ice and snow, I think we all feel joyful to see the earth unwrapped in spring.
Of course, Earth Day refers to the Earth on a planetary scale, but it's a short leap from thinking about the muddy earth underfoot that supports the growth of crocuses, pussy willows, fiddleheads and worms, to considering the big round earth that is home to oceans, rivers, mountains and forests.
Earth Day is a reminder that we need to consider the effects that everyday decisions will have on the earth.
Individual choices about what to eat and how to prepare food may seem inconsequential; we sometimes think, "I'm just one person; my actions make no difference." But because almost everyone eats, every day, decisions about feeding ourselves can have immense impact.
Many jurisdictions, including Prince Edward Island, have established "eat local" campaigns designed to support local producers and protect the environment. Reducing the distance that food has to travel to get to your plate reduces the amount of fuel that has to be used for transportation, resulting in fewer emissions that escape into the atmosphere.
We are learning, again, to appreciate seasonal foods as they appear throughout the year in Island farms and orchards, as previous generations did. Instead of everything all the time, it's everything in its own time.
Though I am not ready to give up all imported foods, I have been trying to learn more ways to prepare locally-grown foods, and thus increase the proportion of our diet that comes from P.E.I.
The most extreme way to eat locally is to grow your own food. People who operate mixed farms have traditionally done this, but to a lesser extent, gardeners do it too. I don't know if statistics back this up, but there is a common belief that increasing numbers of people are growing vegetable gardens now.
If you have a garden plot, a piece of land that can be turned into one, or access to a community garden, you can join this trend. This is a good time to think about what you can grow, and where.
As concerns about protecting the earth become widespread, more people are selecting food that is produced in a sustainable manner so as not to damage or deplete the soil and water. Many people are selecting organically-grown foods or those grown with a minimum of fertilizer and pesticides, and foods which have been grown with practices that prevent soil erosion and runoff, protecting farmlands and waterways.
The way we cook also has an impact. Cooking in the oven is generally the biggest waster of energy. What are the alternatives? Use a toaster-oven when you can or make efficient use of the oven by cooking a number of oven dishes at the same time.
When cooking on the stovetop, you can save some energy by reducing the heat once the food has reached the boiling point. Food will cook just as quickly at a low boil or a simmer in a covered saucepan over low heat as it will at a full boil over high heat.
If you are trying to reduce the impact that your cooking and eating decisions have on the earth, be aware of packaging when you shop. Plastic bags and packaging materials last and last, and I have seen them clinging to trees and caught in the bushes everywhere that I have travelled. Although single serving packages of juice, yogurt and even cereals are handy for popping into lunches for school or work, they result in a lot more waste than do larger packages. It's a better idea to keep a supply of reusable packages for sandwiches and other luncheon items.
I've been thinking that a lot of the earth's resources go into producing wasted foods and beverages, too.
We buy more than we can eat before it rots, we put more food on our plates than we can eat, we produce beverages such as diet soft drinks that are totally devoid of nutritional value and we consume so much food that it makes us obese and unhealthy.
When we clean up after a meal, especially at public functions, it's not uncommon for us to toss compostable items like food into the waste bag, even in our province, which has what I consider to be an unusually good composting program. How much better it would be to compost it, and turn it into soil.
We could do better, and there is no better time to start than Earth Day 2009. Every one of us can make changes to help our planet survive.
This is a good day to pay attention to the information that's available, and start behaving as if we care for the Earth.
Margaret Prouse, a home economist, can be reached by writing her at RR#2, North Wiltshire, P.E.I., C0A 1Y0, or by e-mail at prouse@pei.sympatico.ca.
