This series will examine how you and your family can eat healthfully, take control of your food, and take care of the environment.

Read Take Control Of Your Health Part 1

Shop Around

You do not have to relinquish your hard-earned, food-shopping savy in order to eat for better health or for a cleaner environment. 

If you shop somewhere that feels particularly elitist (and this DOES happen), then simply shop somewhere else. 

The first step you want to take is to compile a list of the natural food stores in your area and make a effort to visit them when you are in the area.  

After doing this for sometime you will narrow down your choices to one or two places that you like the best.

Lower Your Food Chain Choices

It takes a lot of resources to produce meat and other animal products and this heavily taxes our planet. 

One calorie of animal protein is equivalent to seven calories of vegetarian food. 

To create one calorie of feedlot beef it takes the equivalent of seventy-eight fuel calories. 

When you decide to eat less meat and more vegetables, grains, fruits, and legumes, you are helping to greatly reduce the food production burden on this planet.

When you do decide to eat animal proteins, try to find proteins that are antibiotic- and hormone free (toxins tend to accumulate in the bodies of animals).  The issue of hormones is the reasons why European countries refuse to import United States raised beef.   

You should have no problem finding organic eggs, milk, and dairy products as they are more than likely already available at your local supermarket. 

You will probably need to visit your local natural-food store to find organic poultry and meats. 

In the last several years there has been an upswing in the number of cattle that are raised drug-free and hormone-free on grass that is also grown organically.

When buying fish try not to purchase farm-raised fish because farm-raised fish is raised using antibiotics, hormones, and polluted waters.   So try to buy wild fish (but buy wild fish that are not endangered).   

You can check the Monterey Bay Aquarium website for fish news and a list of  fisheries that are sustainable harvested.