Table for two

One of the ways in which couples celebrate Valentines day is to have a romantic meal for two at their favorite restaurant. Good food, good wine and good company. But this is not a time to get carried away in the moment and forget about your global footprint! We need to be aware of our impact on the environment wherever and whatever we may be celebrating.

Go local
Try and eat somewhere close to home and at a restaurant locally owned. When a restaurant is locally owned they usually buy from local resources. You can also browse Certified Green Restaurants. Going local also means you could take public transport, or walk (great if you plan on consuming alcohol), or if going out with another couple then perhaps carpool. Even if you have to take the car, a restaurant closer to home is always a good option to lower your transportation energy costs.

Menu & Food
Think about the food you’ll be ordering and it’s environmental impact. Try and choose menu items lower on the food chain, chicken rather than beef for example as chicken has a lower environmental impact. Vegetarian and vegan items has the lowest impact of all so do consider the specialty menus. If wish to eat fish, try and choose sustainable options and make informed seafood choices. Refer to the online guide from Blue Ocean Institute as to the environmental impact of the particular fish on the menu. Look to see if there are organic options on the menu also.

Consider the impact
Does the restaurant use sustainable products? Are they using cloth napkins and tablecloths for example? Many higher end restaurants do this as a matter of principle but really it’s the sustainable option too! If you’ve been to the restaurant before how big are the food portions? Do you really need to order so much and let it go to waste? Research shows that restaurants estimate 25% of food ordered by customers is wasted, think before you order!

Ditch the Doggy bag
Forget the Styrofoam and plastic and bring your own take home container with you. Whether you opt for generic plastic food container from the superstore, glass, stoneware or metal. Bringing your own take home containers significantly reduces your impact on the environment. Also this lowers restaurant overheads and hopefully in turn lower menu prices, or at least nicer restaurant environment.

dalgal | My Bio & Articles