Bal Tashchit and Beyond: Eating for Our Planet and Ourselves

The Charlotte Jewish News, June/July 2023

By Rochelle Carney

Have you ever stepped outside during or just after a rain shower and seen a rainbow? If so, did it look so good you could eat it? Well, in a way you can, and in this article we will discuss how to use the rainbow image to eat in ways that will benefit your health and benefit our shared planet.

The “eat the rainbow” analogy has really taken off recently and makes it easy to remember a simple way to ensure you are getting a variety of natural vitamins and minerals in your diet. Just think of the colors of a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple) and try to choose fruits and vegetables with those colors to fill half your plate at each meal. This should achieve the current American Heart Association recommendation of four to five servings each of fruits and vegetables daily.

It is also important to remember how much better it is for your body to consume whole fruits and vegetables as opposed to just juice. Many of the most beneficial portions of the food, such as fiber, are contained outside the juice. These fiber-rich foods can help you feel full with-

out overeating and many studies show that fiber will help reduce cholesterol as well as lower your risk for heart disease. In addition, fruit juice purchased in stores often contains excess sugar, and generates food packaging waste. Combining the health aspects of eating the rainbow with sustainable practices can truly create the benefit of eating for your health and the health of the planet. Reducing meat consumption and replacing some meat products with vegetable products will have a positive impact on both your health and the health of the environment. Growing your own fruits and vegetables is an even better local option with the added benefit of being able to compost fruit and vegetable scraps back into your garden — the cycle continues!

In addition, while we all love fresh fruit all year round, the reality is that purchasing fruit out of season is often not sustainable as they most likely travel long distances to reach your store. This additional shipping will increase the level of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to acid rain, air pollution, and global warming. Focusing on eating seasonally and locally goes a long way toward reducing the impact of food transportation. Eating seasonally has many other benefits as well, including the introduction of diversity into your selections through natural seasonality. Rather than buy strawberries all year, switch to cranberries or pumpkin in the fall. Pumpkins contain carotenoids which, besides giving them their orange hue, neutralize free radicals and help prevent wrinkles. Pumpkins are also packed with vitamins A, C, and E.

In addition, tending our own gardens and eating locally also reduces the amount of packaging waste that ends up in our landfills. Of course, it is not likely to be possible for us to grow enough fruits and vegetables in our backyard gardens to feed our families all year, so keep an eye out for local farmers markets and choose food with minimal or reusable/recyclable packaging. The less packaging a food has, the less energy and chemicals expended, and the less overall waste produced. One idea for fruit clamshells, which are not typically recyclable in curbside bins, is to take them back to one of the various farmers’ markets around town where many larger family farms can use them to package their own crops. In addition, the Bulb (https://www. thebulbgallery.org/) located at the Innovation Barn (https:// envisioncharlotte.com/innovation-barn/) at 932 Seigle Ave., is currently accepting clamshells and 12 count egg cartons for local use.

As with many health and sustainability initiatives, it’s not al- ways possible to eat the rainbow at every meal, or to eat locally and seasonally for everyone all the time. Perfection isn’t the goal! The important thing is to be aware of the choices we are making and their impact on our health and on the world around us. This awareness makes it easier to choose options that apply these concepts when and where you can.

Jewish tradition teaches the importance of caring for the environment, for we must act as partners in preserving creation. If you are interested in donating your time or dollars to Shalom Green, please visit our website at www.shalomgreenCLT.org and email us at info@shalomgreenCLT.org. Connect with us on Facebook at Shalom Green: Shalom Park Environmental Initiative and on Instagram and Twitter @shalomgreen_CLT.

Photo caption: Green Sprouts learn why different foods are good for different parts of the body at their April meeting.