Autorentext

Naomi Hansen is an author, writer, and editor. Her first book, Only in Saskatchewan (2022) was the winner of two 2023 Saskatchewan Book Awards-the First Book Award and the Book of the Year Award. She is a regular contributor for many publications, including Canadian Living and Chatelaine, and is also the Saskatoon Bites food columnist for CBC Saskatchewan. When she's not writing, Naomi enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, and travelling. She lives on Treaty 6 Territory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with her partner, Paul, and their dog, Rue.

Klappentext

Building a Sustainable Kitchen is the thoroughly researched and realistic step-by-step guide every climate-conscious cook needs to make the heart of their home more planet-friendly. 

 When Canadian food writer Naomi Hansen first started a “sustainability” blog, she was overwhelmed by conflicting advice, shiny advertisements, unrealistic recommendations, and a culture of shame. Building a Sustainable Kitchen is her antidote: a solutions-focused, no-nonsense guide designed to help you cut through disinformation and greenwashing to make your kitchen truly sustainable, one step at a time. 

 In each chapter, Naomi invites you on her journey to build a planet-friendly kitchen, with help from her husband Paul and their dog Rue. Drawing on wisdom from hundreds of expert interviews, academic studies, books, and more, as well as on the author's own experience as a regular Canadian in her humble kitchen, Building a Sustainable Kitchen demystifies the science behind how what we do in the kitchen every day affects our Earth, and most importantly, shows you what you can do about it. 

 Each chapter contains a wealth of flexible recommendations for achievable, evidence-based changes that make a real impact for the planet. Chapters on reducing food waste, understanding plant-based, local, seasonal, and organic eating, and gardening teach us about the food on our plates. Chapters on the potential and pitfalls of composting and recycling, learning what it really means to send waste to a landfill, and navigating the nitty gritty of disposable and reusable items help us reduce garbage and grow toward a circular economy. From water use, to cleaning, to choosing appliances, to our beloved coffees and teas, Building a Sustainable Kitchen leaves no stone unturned. This heartfelt, practical guide proves that building a sustainable kitchen is not just possible, but that it can also be joyful and transformative.

Inhalt

Table of Contents 
Foreword by Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament, Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Introduction


• My Journey to Building a Sustainable Kitchen
• 
Understanding Sustainability
• 
Understanding Climate Change
• 
Why Food and Kitchens
• 
But Does Individual Action Really Matter?
• 
How to Use This Book

• 
The Journey Begins
Chapter 1: Food Waste
What Is Food Waste and Why Does It Even Matter?


• What Food Waste Costs Us

• 
What Food Waste Costs the Planet
What You Can Do


• Take Stock: Build Awareness of Your Food Waste Habits
• 
Take Stock Again: Check In with Your Fridge, Freezer, and Pantry Regularly
• 
Plan Ahead, at the Store and at Home
• Understand Best-Before Dates
• 
Improve Your Food Storage Habits
• Table: Consumer Best Before Timetable


• Be Mindful of Food Waste Beyond Your Dinner Table
Takeaways
Chapter 2: Low-Waste Cooking
What You Can Do


• Learn to Cook Intuitively with What You Have
• 
Get Comfortable Substituting
• 
Use Foods in Their Entirety
• 
Find "Anything Goes" Recipes That Work for You

• 
Repurpose Leftovers to Create Something Even Better
Takeaways
Chapter 3: What We Eat
The Impact of the Global Food System
Plant-Based and Animal-Based Foods by the Numbers


• Chart: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Across the Supply Chain
Beef and Other Ruminant Animals
What About Local or Sustainably Raised Food? How About Packaging?


• Chart: Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Food Production
What About Fish and Seafood?
What About Dairy
The Prominence of Animal-Based Foods in Society
The Impacts of Plant-Based Foods
What You Can Do


• Shift Toward a Plant-Based Diet
• 
Take stock of Your Starting Point
• 
Invite Your Loved Ones into the Process
• 
Set Reasonable Goals
• 
Start with What's Easiest for You
• 
Learn to Cook with Plant-Based Protein

• 
Prioritize Progress over Perfection and Reflect on the Process
Takeaways
Chapter 4: Local, Seasonal, Organic
Eating Local
Eating Seasonal
Why Eat Local and Seasonal?
Eating Sustainably Looks Different in Every Climate
Eating Organic


• What Makes Food Organic?

• 
Is Eating Organic More Sustainable?
What You Can Do


• Reframe How You Think About Local and Seasonal Food
• 
Visit a Farmers' Market Near Your
• 
Subscribe to a CSA or Local Food Box
• 
Buy Your Animal-Based Foods Local and Organic

• 
Find Your Region's Unique Ways to Source and Support Local, Seasonal, and Organic
Takeaways
Chapter 5: Grocery Shopping
The Principles Behind Sustainable Grocery Shopping
What You Can Do


• Create a Reusable Grocery Shopping Kit
• 
Find a Bulk Bin Store Near You
• 
Shop at a Zero-Waste Grocery Store
• 
Buy in Bulk to Save on Packaging
• 
Visit Individual Local Businesses
• 
Subscribe to a Food-Saving Produce Box
• 
Shop more Sustainably at a Conventional Grocery Store

• 
Bonus: Apply These Principles to Everything You Buy
Takeaways
Sidebar: Does Sourcing Food Sustainably Cost More?
Chapter 6: Composting
How Does Composting Work?
Why Composting Helps Create a More Circular System
What You Can Do


• Use Your Curbside Organics Collection Program—and Use it Well
• 
Advocate for an Organics Program Near You
• 
Choose a Home Composting Option

• 
Bonus: Understand Compostable Plastics—but Keep Them out of Your Compost
Takeaways
Chapter 7: Recycling
A Brief History of Recycling
What Is Mechanical Recycling?
Which Materials Recycle Well?
The Challenge of Recycling Plastic


• Types of Plastic—and How They Affect Recycling
• 
The Economics of Recycling Plastic

• 
The Challenges of Composite Plastics
Understanding Recycling Labels
Our Obsession With Recycling
What You Can Do


• Go on a Recycling Tour
• 
Follow the Waste Hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Then Recycle
• 
Use the Recycling Services Available to You—and Use Them Well

• 
Do Your Homework for Hard-to-Recycle Items
Takeaways
Chapter 8: Garbage
Defining Waste
A Brief History of Garbage
The Grim Reality of Landfills
Linear Versus Circular Systems
The Zero-Waste Hierarchy
What You Can Do


• Replace Garbage with Landfill in Your Vocabulary
• 
Take Stock: Do a Kitchen Garbage Inventory
• 
Make Less Garbage

• 
Consider Your Garbage Bag
Takeaways
Sidebar: My Experience Making Less Garbage—and the Limits of Individual Action
Chapter 9: Disposables and Reusables
Are Reusable Items Always More Sustainable?
The Zero-Waste Hierarchy: Zooming In on Refuse and Reduce
What You Can Do


• Refuse: Use Up What You Already Have—and Then See What Happens
• 
Implement the Zero-Waste Hierarchy in Your Kitchen
• 
The Waste Hierarchy Categories
• 
Learning to Think Zero Waste
• 
Aluminum Foil and Pans
• 
Dinnerware
• 
Drink Receptacles
• 
Paper Baking Products
• 
Paper Napkins
• 
…