Sustainable nutrition: saving the environment and resources
Are you looking for a path to a sustainable diet? Deliberately purchasing unpackaged and regional food can save resources. Correct storage is also crucial. Modern refrigerators and freezers keep food fresh for longer, reduce waste and save energy. Here you’ll find tips on climate-friendly foods and how to integrate them into your everyday life.
The key points
- Sustainable nutrition means choosing foods that require few resources for their cultivation, processing, consumption and disposal.
- The focus is on plant-based, seasonal and regional products with a low carbon footprint.
- Energy-saving preparation and proper storage help prevent food waste.
- Modern refrigeration systems support the freshness and shelf life of food and reduce energy consumption.
Sustainable nutrition: why it’s important for you
Food production has a significant impact on our ecological footprint. By choosing regional and seasonal products, you can reduce your environmental impact. Fresh, unprocessed foods also contain more vitamins and minerals, which has a positive effect on your health. A plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruit and wholegrain products not only supports your well-being but also helps to conserve natural resources.
How can you integrate sustainable nutrition in your everyday life?
Shop regionally and seasonally:
Choose plant-based foods:
Avoiding food waste:
Climate-friendly, plant-based diet
Animal products require the use of more resources than plant-based foods. The plants that grow in the fields can usually be eaten raw or after briefly cooking or frying them off without any concerns.
Animal foods…
- consume plant products to feed the animals and large quantities of water.
- require additional capacity for housing,transport and slaughter.
- for example, require many times the amount of milk to produce butter or cheese, so more resources are used here too.
- emit greenhouse gases through the animals themselves.
Ultimately, the bottom line is that the high consumption of animal products results in too much land being used, too many resources being wasted, too many fertilizers being used, and too many unhealthy fats being consumed.
Cooking sustainably: how does it work?
Climate-friendly cooking begins with the selection of ingredients. In addition to organic food, particular attention should be paid to the regionality and seasonality of the ingredients. You should also avoid highly processed convenience foods, as their production is often very resource-intensive. Instead, you should regularly cook fresh food yourself. To save the energy used on the stove and oven, it’s worth preparing a dish in larger quantities to last several days.
Proper storage is crucial for keeping food fresh for longer and avoiding unnecessary waste. An energy-efficient refrigerator from Liebherr ensures that fresh ingredients retain their nutrients and premature spoilage is prevented. Special freshness zones such as a Meat & Dairy safe or the HydroBreeze feature help ensure sensitive foods are stored in the optimum way. This makes it easy to store prepared meals and enjoy them when needed in a resource-saving manner – an important contribution to sustainable cooking.
Climate-friendly nutrition – which foods are the most sustainable?
| Food | Sustainability aspect | Advantages |
|---|---|---|
| Lentils | Require little water and energy to grow | Rich in protein and fiber |
| Tomatoes | Seasonal cultivation reduces CO₂ emissions | High content of vitamins and antioxidants |
| Mussels | Naturally filter the water and do not require any feed | Good source of omega-3 fatty acids |
| Seaweed | Grow quickly and bind CO₂ | Contains many minerals and vitamins |
| Potatoes | Low water consumption and high yields per area | Versatile and nutritious |
FAQ: sustainable nutrition
Start with small steps by favoring regional and seasonal products and reducing your consumption of animal products. Choose unprocessed foods, avoid food waste, and store your groceries properly to extend their shelf life.
A sustainable diet includes environmentally friendly, nutrient-rich foods that are as unprocessed as possible. These include primarily plant-based products such as fruit, vegetables, pulses and whole grains, as well as fairly traded foods and foods produced with efficient use of resources.
Environmentally friendly fruit is seasonal, regionally grown and has short transport routes, such as locally grown apples, pears or berries. Dried fruit or frozen fruit without additives can also be a sustainable out-of-season alternative.
