Sustainable - An Opinion or 7 -

Principles of Sustainable Food


People and businesses adopting a sustainable approach to food should:

1. Use local, seasonally available ingredients as standard, to minimize energy used in food production, transport and storage.

2. Specify food from farming systems that minimize harm to the environment, such as certified organic produce.

3. Limit foods that are of the most significant contributors to climate change, and promote meals rich in fruit, vegetables, pulses, whole grains and nuts. Ensure that meat, dairy products and eggs are produced to high environmental and animal welfare standards.

4. Exclude fish species identified as most “at risk”, and choose fish only from sustainable sources.

5. Choose Fair-trade - Certified products for foods and drinks imported from poorer countries, to ensure a fair deal for disadvantaged producers.

6. Avoid bottled water and instead serve plain or filtered tap water in reusable jugs or bottles, to minimize transport and packaging waste.

7. Promote health and well-being by cooking with generous portions of vegetables, fruit and starchy staples like whole grains, cutting down on salt, fats and oils, and cutting out artificial additives.


A product can be considered sustainable if its production enables the resources from which it was made to continue to be available for future generations. A sustainable product can thus be created repeatedly without generating negative environmental effects, without causing waste products to accumulate as pollution, and without compromising the well being of workers or communities.