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Take a Closer Look at the Ingredient List

Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA

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By Collin Dunn
Corvallis, OR, USA | Sun Mar 23 17:21:00 EDT 2008

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It'd be great if we could all eat all fresh, local food, all the time, but, try as we might, the reality is that most of us will end up with a can, jar, bottle, or box in our pantry or fridge. When it does come time to pick up a jar of peanut butter or a box of cereal, there is something you can do to be more healthy-and more green.

Carefully consider the ingredient list on anything that doesn't arrive at the grocery store in nature's packaging, like a potato's skin. Plus, not only are the unpronounceable ingredients probably not very good for you, but each ingredient also had to be individually transported (usually) to the processing plant, before being shipped on to the store where you buy it.This goes for all ingredients, organic or corn-based, processed, or not, and it can really add up. A box of 100 percent organic cereal in my pantry still has 10 ingredients on the list, so each of those had to be harvested, processed, and shipped before it became part of my cereal. So, keeping the ingredients list short is not only better for you-and approved by sustainable foodie Michael Pollan, who reminds us that nobody really wants to eat ethoxylated monoglycerides)-but it also keeps the food miles down. And that's better for everybody.

Difficulty level: Easy

 
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