When cook Elizabeth J.E. Johnson, co-owner of a New York City–based sustainable-food education service called Conscious Cravers, teaches about the benefits of environmentally and socially responsible food choices, she lets the groceries do the talking.

"People are realizing that what they eat affects not only their own health but also the health of the environment and the economic health of farmers in their own communities and in developing countries," Johnson says. And, as she explains, making sustainable choices becomes easier when you realize that the food looks beautiful, tastes wonderful and makes your body feel great.

Sounds delicious, right? If you'd like to use your grocery dollars to support the future of healthy (and delicious) food that's grown in ways that sustain the health of the planet and the livelihood of small farmers — as well as your own health — the following strategies can help.

Buy from farm stands or grower's-only farmer's markets. "Locally grown food is often picked just hours before you buy it," Johnson says. "It's riper and fresher, so it's more nutritious. And often, it's also chemical-free." Another, more personal option: Join a CSA. Short for "community-supported agriculture," these farms offer annual subscriptions for shares of the harvest — meaning you get a weekly bag of fresh vegetables. Find out about CSAs, farm stands and grower's-only markets near you at Local Harvest, a sustainable-agriculture advocacy group: localharvest.org/.

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Buy — or request — organic basics at the supermarket. Organic foods are now on the shelves at Wal-Mart and mainstream supermarket chains — which means your local supermarket should be able to stock a few organic items as well. "If your supermarket doesn't carry an organic food you like, ask for it," Johnson says. "You can form a relationship and get things changed."

Go for fair-trade. Love coffee and chocolate? Seek out fair-trade versions, which are grown in developing countries by farmer cooperatives that set fair labor practices and fair prices. Some natural-foods stores and supermarkets carry fair-trade foods. You can also find lists of fair-trade suppliers through TransFair USA (transfairusa.org). Also available: tea, sugar and rice.

Catch the smartest fish. Seafood can be a crazy Catch-22: It's packed with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, yet many varieties are overfished, raised on unhealthy farms or laced with pollutants. Looking for healthy and eco-friendly choices? Stick with mahi-mahi, sablefish and Dungeness crab. (Anchovies, clams, snow crab, Atlantic mackerel, farmed scallops and rainbow trout, shrimp and tilapia are also safe to eat at least once a week.) Avoid bluefish, wild Striped Bass, spotted sea trout and weakfish. Also, stick with wild Alaskan salmon or canned pink salmon instead of farm-raised, and use canned light tuna for your tuna salad (though only three servings a month for kids younger than age six.)

 

Go free-range and grass-fed. Meat from grass-fed cattle has about 60 percent more good fats than you'd get in conventional, grain-fed beef, say agriculture researchers at California State University in Chico. Eggs from "pastured poultry" (chickens and turkeys who live and eat outdoors) have 30 percent more heart-protective vitamin E and may also have more folic acid and vitamin B12. Find local sources of grass-fed beef, lamb and pork at eatwild.com/products.

Reviewed by: Joseph Scherger, MD

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