Interested in living a more eco-conscious life, but you don't know where to start or you feel overwhelmed by conflicting advice?
What if, rather than trying to ‘be sustainable’ (which is practically impossible in the modern world), we acknowledged that we’re constantly moving ‘towards living sustainably’? Why not consistently do the things that are attainable to us, here within this flawed society, and do as much good and as little harm as we can along the way? Carrying out small, achievable actions puts us in a position of control over the direction we’re headed in. It allows room for growth, but also space for mistakes.
I bloody love a mistake, as I maintain it’s the best way to really learn something new. By experiencing first-hand what doesn’t work, we solidly build our knowledge of what does.
Credit: Hardie Grant Books / Rochelle Eagle
To help me effectively think about the environmental impact of the food I eat, I break things down into little chunks, and work on them one at a time.
Here are some thoughts and actions to add to your stash of ways to make some positive change.
1. Adaptable thinking
Upskill your cooking capacity. Read books, attend classes, learn from experts in person, on TV or online. Pick a recipe or cuisine to learn more about, and try it out a few times. You could try one new recipe per month from a particular cuisine: by the end of a year, you’ll have a better understanding of how that cuisine works, and feel more confident intuitively adapting and substituting ingredients.
Catie pie (weedy greens pie). Credit: Hardie Grant Books / Rochelle Eagle
2. Embrace community
In times gone by, a lot of life learning happened in and around the home.
Elders taught youngsters to grow and tend gardens, to make and mend garments – and to do the same with relationships, understandings and Community. This method of learning is largely missing in Western society, but it gives me hope to see recent increases in the number of people wanting to reconnect with ‘old-fashioned’ skills. Foraging, preserving, growing food, bushcrafting, and making and mending clothes are all hot topics in the post-pandemic world.
A lot of life learning happened in and around the home.
Essentially, I see diverse, connected Community as a vital tool for increased societal resilience. If we spend time with people whose values are similar to ours, we feel comfortable making mistakes in front of them. If this were the norm, imagine the learning that could be going on!
3. Foraging at home
I keep an eye out for what’s growing seasonally, and I choose to make meals that use those things: things like , or soup and risotto when edible wild mushrooms are up.
Wild plum barbecue sauce. Credit: Hardie Grant Books / Rochelle Eagle
Another type of foraging I like to do, which requires no real new skills or learning, is home foraging. Every four to six weeks, I say to myself, ‘Right! I’m not allowed to buy anything new this week except milk and bread. Everything else has to come from the fridge, freezer, pantry or garden!’
Learning to create a meal from limited ingredients may sound daunting, but it’s actually quite fun when you get stuck in.
4. Making your own
As the cost of living increases, many foods that used to make it into the shopping basket regularly may start to seem like expensive luxuries. Non-essentials like sweets, biscuits and crackers quickly shift into this category, but things like cheese, yoghurt and cereals aren’t far behind.
Learning to make some of these foods from scratch may feel daunting, but truly, there are so many recipes available these days that it’s likely to be much simpler than you imagine. Making my own is one of the easiest things I started doing in an effort to be less reliant on supermarkets.
Have a go at making delicious granola or other cereals from ingredients bought at bulk-food stores. Mix biscuit (cookie) dough in bulk then freeze it in batches for quick weekly bakes. Make crackers and naan, pizza dough and pasta with little more than flour, water, oil and a bit of salt – they’re cultural staples because they’re cheap and easy to make. Whip up fruit leather straps with just fruit and sunshine. Have a crack at sourdough bread. Every swap is a step towards less plastic packaging in the environment, and more pennies in your pocket.
5. The scraptastic challenge
Learn to use up food that looks a bit preloved or wibbly, reimagine leftovers as new meals, and use bits of ingredients you wouldn’t normally.
Quick jam cake. Credit: Hardie Grant Books / Rochelle Eagle
There are to creatively use bits and bobs of food; try setting yourself a challenge where you don’t discard anything for a week without stopping to consider whether it could be used in a different way first. You'll be surprised how often you can make something delicious from it!
A final thought: The privilege of living sustainably
Something that’s really important to acknowledge when discussing any kind of behavioural change is the diverse range of factors that may affect someone’s ability to make said changes. There’s a huge amount of privilege embedded in discussions about ‘sustainable living’, and it’s something I don’t think is reflected on often enough. Some factors that might affect someone's ability to implement change in the way they live include: Health and fitness (including financial or geographical access to nutritious food and good healthcare); chronic illness; financial stability; housing; age, gender race, religion and marginalised status. This is by no means exhaustive, and we never really know what's going on in someone else's world.
This is an edited extract from , published by Hardie Grant Explore. Photography by Rochelle Eagle.
