Hello everyone! I am Evan and I am from the United States. I feel like out of all the nations, America produces the most pollution and destroys the environment the most. I think we all can produce less pollution by using less energy consuming products and switch to more energy efficient resources. If we do this we can greatly affect the environment we live in and make a greener planet.

Hi,I’m from Taiwan.Most of the residents in Taiwan lives in the apartment,so not many home grown stuffs can be grown in our apartments.But , I can say home grown plants are definatetly better than buying stuffs from supermarket where those vegetables are grown with tons of fertilizers which can pollute water resources.Home grown vegetables also have the benefit of saving money for you and it also make you eat healthy.You can also manage the amount of water used to plant the vegetables,you can use recycled toilet water to flower your vegetables.So I guess home grown vegetables may make the society better!!!

Hi. I’m from Texas. One benefit of living in Texas is the weather and the soil. We Texans are fortunate to be able to grow many plants and fruit trees when other parts of the country cannot. I strongly believe that eating locally-produced food helps the climate problem. No matter how small, a plant is a plant which goes through photosynthesis which absorb carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the atmosphere.Eating locally-grown food helps the local farmers and the overall economy. It is also fresher and easier to access. Not to mention, it is also cheaper most of the time. Because of the freshness, it is also healthier. My mom just planted a chili plant in our backyard. Also, my grandma grows all types of herbs and fruits in her garden. Now, our whole family does not have to buy herbs at the supermarket anymore!

Hello my name is Sarah and I am a freshman in highschool from the U.S. Since I started my carbon footprint project I have been looking at ways in which I can reduce my carbon footprint. Now I’m sure many of you would agree with me and say that food is a wonderful thing. We can reduce our carbon footprint through food in many ways. What might come to your mind first is to eat healthier foods and things that are organic and do not have preservatives. Well this is something you could do but think about what you put your food in. This is what gets thrown away. Tin foil, wax paper, plastic bottles, paper bags, cardboard tv dinners and juiceboxes are all things that are not very necessary. Replace these things with reusable containers, thermoses, lunchboxes, and water jugs. This way all the things you package your food in can just be washed and then reused. Now of course you could recycle cardboard and plastic etc. but using reusable appliances is easier and less expensive.

Hey! I’m Dorothy and I am from Houston, Texas. My family has an aluminum, sealed, container, next to our kitchen sink, in which we place things like banana peels, apple cores, and other left over food. When that bin is full, we take it out to our compost pile we keep behind our garage apartment and dump it. My family has been doing this for as long as I can imagine. It is the richest, most natural soil, we use it for our many gardens, and even some of our neighbors use it for their gardens. My family has a garden on the roof of my dad’s office, in which we grow food like carrots, lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes. We have a salad every night with our dinner and we use those foods instead of buying them at a store. Also we have gardens lining our property with plumeria plants, bamboo, and banana trees. All of these gardens started with our composted soil. I am proud to say that I am an avid composter and gardener. Using your food scraps and making them into soil is a great way of reusing things you would otherwise throw away as trash. Composting is an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint. Compost soil is rich and rarely needs any fertilizer or garden enhancers, so you will cut down on buying products like those. Unfortunately, starting a compost pile in an urban area might not be the easiest process. But, an easy solution to that is starting a neighborhood compost where everyone gets their soil and disposes of their food scraps. I am a strong believer in composting and feel its important to maintaining a healthy, carbon emission free, home and environment.

When calculating my carbon footprint and I saw that food was one of the catagories I thoght that it would be one of my highest caclulations. In fact, it was my lowest. I thought that it would have been much higher. I did not realize however that the food I ate could have an impact on the environment. There are four people in my family so I realized that since everyone has to eat there is a lot of carbon emissions coming from food.

After you finish up eating a fruit, vegetable, ar any type of food really, does it just go in the trash? This tends to happen often, but there is actually another option for getting rid of your food and helping out the environment. Composting!! It’s super easy to do, and you can even make a garden with the compost that you have made after a while! The link below gives some info if you’re interested, and it is really not that hard to do. It is great for the environment and getting rid of tons of everyday foods. So get out there and compost, people!

Hello! My name is Riley and I’m from the USA. My family consumes a lot of food. We are all aware of this, however this quiz showed me that we tend to consume/purchase more than the average american. In the USA, our food average is about 2223kg. When I took the test on behalf of me AND my family our total came out to 2880kg. We have 4 people in our family and it’s safe to say we are all hungry people. However, these numbers DID surprise us. Knowing that this can take a negative toll on our environment we are now doing our best to utilize every opportunity to consume leftovers, rather than cook meals almost every night.

Now, I know this discussion is mostly for home grown fruits and vegetables, however, how about fresh eggs! I have had benefits. Also, you don’t need a farm/ranch to raise them; I raised my chickens in my small Houston backyard. Fresh eggs are healthy and it is enjoyable for family/friends to find the eggs in the backyard (like an Easter egg hunt every day). Eggs from chickens forage naturally, have on average, seven times more beta carotene (which is what makes pastured egg yolks so orange), three times more vitamin E, two times more omega-3 fatty acids and two-thirds more vitamin A than factory farm birds. Most poultry farms that advertise their birds as caged free, are actually raised in large poultry houses in crowded conditions and the birds never see the outdoors. If you want the best, healthiest, and freshest eggs then you want to raise them yourself in conditions that you know are healthy for you and your family. Raising your own chickens will also give you the added benefits of free garden fertilizer, natural insect control in your yard and garden.

Hi! My name is Kylie. My family owns a ranch and we have a house in Houston. At our ranch and in our tiny backyard in Houston, we have huge gardens and fruit trees. I know that growing your own food can be good for the environment, plus it is also healthier, and it’s a really fun activity to do with your family/friends. By growing your own produce you are declining the manufactured and genetically engineered products which can increase the amount of carbon. Plants take carbon dioxide from the environment and give back oxygen Another good point is if you home grow something you don’t have to use pesticides and all the other artificial substances that are put into producing these (sometimes) “genetically altered” fruits and vegetables. Therefore, I am just advising that that growing your own produce is a healthier, greener, and fun choice. Also, growing your own produce is significantly cheaper than buying produce from stores. My mother and I do most of the gardening. We grow a variety of fruits and vegetables both here in Houston and at my ranch. However, depending on the season we grow different types of fruits and vegetables. We have grown strawberries, oranges, lemons, pears, peaches, black berries, raspberries, tomatoes, squash, watermelons, cantaloupe, green beans, zucchini, lettuce, bell peppers, cabbage, basil, jalapeños, rosemary, radishes, carrots, and cucumber. Everything homegrown (in my opinion) is fresher, more natural, and just more delicious than store bought food. My family is always visiting our garden happy to see what is growing and then we make wonderful dishes or snacks with our produce!