Green resolutions - 7 tips for a more eco-friendly life

January first is an easy day to start anew. There’s something about rolling into a new year that inspires us to do something to improve ourselves.

But what it we all viewed January first as an opportunity to make our world a better place?

Making a few eco-friendly changes to the way we live is one way to improve the world with the added benefit of improving our lives since the health of the planet and our personal health are so undeniably intertwined. Something as simple as buying better quality food, or eating a little less meat, can have positive repercussions that extend way beyond your waistline.

As with any new resolution or habit, starting with bite-sized changes and adding to them bit by bit is a good way to build positive momentum. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Buy local for a green Christmas

Last month this Holiday pledge started circulating online. 

Even if we all kept the pledge just 10% of the time it would make a huge difference in our communities. Buying local keeps four-times more of our shopping dollars in our communities, compared to shopping at chain stores. And according to data from the city of Vancouver, local businesses support local events, charities and sports teams 250% more than big corporations.  

How to avoid genetically modified organisms (GMO's)

How do you tell if your food has been genetically modified? Would you want to know? Should you care?

Since there are no labeling laws in Canada that require a producer to state whether or not food ingredients are genetically modified, we’re on our own to figure out whether or not there are GMOs in our food. 

GMOs are “genetically modified organisms,” plants or animals with DNA that has been fiddled with too (theoretically) make it better in different ways. Genes from different species are spliced to create combinations that could never occur in nature or through traditional cross breeding.  

My gut tells me that GMO’s are not a good thing for us or the planet.  But it wasn’t until I dug into the issue that I really understood the significance of GMOs being let loose in our food system.