How to Save our Planet
For me David Attenborough is both inspirational and uplifting. His intimate knowledge and love of our planet, all its inhabitants and environments has been the fire in the belly of nature lovers and eco- warriors. In his latest documentary How to save our planet he succinctly identifies the biggest question we face as a species which is “how do we achieve a sustainable existence on planet earth” then sets down practical solutions to protect and conserve precious resources for future generations.
What we eat is one of the most powerful drivers behind this documentary because it is the root cause of most of the world’s major environmental issues, whether it’s pollution, climate change, habitat loss, deforestation, biodiversity loss or climate change, over exploitation of our natural resources are putting a million species, including us at risk of extinction. But David, bless his heart, believes in the power of humans to bring about the changes we need. As a mother, grandmother, science teacher, food manufacturer, business entrepreneur and human being, so do I.
Environmental problems
Two of the biggest environmental crises in the world today are climate change and plastic pollution. There is no question that these two issues require real-time innovation and action in order to minimize the effect they will have on generations to come. Plastic pollution and climate change are not separate issues, but rather are closely linked in a variety of ways. According to researchers from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, plastic production and disposal resulted in 850 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 and may be responsible for up to 2.8 billion tons by 2050. With numbers like these, it’s no secret that many solutions to the world’s plastic problem go hand-in-hand with solutions to the climate crisis and the long term habitability of this planet.
A planet under threat
Our planet is under threat from over consumption and waste. According to one University of Oxford study, human food production is responsible for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions which is contributing to global warming and climate change. Cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by two-thirds, according to this Oxford study, published in the Journal Science.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has outlined recommendations on how individuals can help reduce climate change. When it comes to our diets, the IPCC says we need to buy less meat, milk, cheese and butter – but also eat more locally sourced seasonal food and throw less of it away.
Better Consumer Choices
The food system is responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Changing your diet and making better consumer choices can make a big difference, from saving water to reducing pollution. Knowing how where your food is produced is as important as consuming less. For example, beef cattle raised on deforested land is responsible for 12 times more greenhouse gas emissions than cows reared on natural pastures. Choose climate-friendly tomatoes, grown outdoors or in high-tech greenhouses, instead of in greenhouses heated by gas or oil. The message is to choose plant-based foods over animal-based foods. The upside is that by choosing a plant-rich diet, we naturally decrease food waste and conserve scarce natural resources.
Earth Day Inspiration
On April 22, 1970 the first Earth Day took place. It inspired people around the world to step up to care for our planet and commit to building a sustainable world. Earth Day is not about taking action for one day it’s about making lasting changes. Among the actions that we all can take the biggest impact is our food choices! Leading environmental organizations and international institutions are urging a shift toward plant-based diets as one of the most important actions the public can take to reduce climate destruction, deforestation, species extinction, and global hunger.
Food prints measure the environmental impacts associated with the growing, producing, transporting, and storing of our food— from the natural resources consumed to the pollution produced to the greenhouse gases emitted. Calculate your food print here Food Carbon Emissions Calculator It accounts for transport, waste, and quantity purchased.
Reduce your carbon “food print.”
Time to introduce myself. My name is Karen, and I am a science educator and CEO and Founder of Botanikos. I have lived a good life and have fond memories of growing up in Melbourne. When I was child at primary school only my dad worked, mum stayed at home to look after us. Kids walked to school, rode bikes to sport and played in the street with friends for fun.
Mum drove the family car to the local shops once a week to bring home the groceries in brown paper bags. She only bought food that was necessary to prepare the weeks meals. Groceries included fruit and vegetables, jars of honey jam and vegemite, cans of peas, corn and tomatoes, bags of flour and sugar, tea coffee, milk eggs cheese bread and butter.
A visit the butcher to get chops mince and the Sunday roast. Not a chicken in sight or take away food on our dinner table. Fish and chips wrapped in paper was the only family treat on a day out. We drank water from fountains to quench our thirst and snacked on apples and oranges harvested from local orchards.
Our household only had one car, one TV set and one 55L metal rubbish bin for a family of 6. This was how the world was for me and I never once felt deprived; rather, I was a healthy and happy child who was brought up to be responsible for your actions, spend time outdoors in the fresh air and enjoy simple family fun. Best is less, buying quality over quantity and looking after my things were valuable lessons learnt as a child that have lasted a lifetime.
So why am I telling you this? In sharing these memories, I am hoping to give you an appreciation of what a simple life was like because I understand that the life today is much more complicated and so very busy and cluttered with stuff. We have more money to spend less time on our hands. Media tempt us to buy more, eat more and not to miss out. It is so easy to purchase with credit cards and pay away systems.
Our sense of security relies on being consumers and purchasing items for comfort. Our lives are filled to the brim with these purchases and with this comes waste. A lot of it. The challenge we face now is to recognise to become more selective consumers. This will require greater thought. The first rule of sustainable future is to buy fresh buy local buy less.
Plan for a sustainable future
Here at Botanikos we are planning for a sustainable future. We want to be part of the change to help people make healthy choices, reduce their carbon and food footprints and make fresh natural local part of their mantra while enjoying amazing cocktail experiences at home. This has required some serious thinking by us to come up with a set of strategic actions to deliver a premium product the way you like it while reducing our carbon footprint and waste. We are working to place ourselves in the food waste space building in some environmentally responsible steps in the supply manufacturing and retail of our syrups.
Because people are becoming more and more open to admitting that they create waste, here are four easy ways to reduce your food print. Remember small changes add up.
- Substitute natural for artificial
- Make seasonal and regional food your mantra.
- Buy local not imported air freighted products.
- Shop wisely If its processed and packaged in plastic skip it.
Fighting food waste
It has been really a labour of love to create a local food manufacturing business. To avoid making surplus unsaleable food makes sense to us and the best use of social media is to order our products online. We would like to be a good example of how businesses should put the customers at the centre of manufacturing and sales of goods and services.
Here at Botanikos we chose to work with local suppliers and retailers who practise fair trade. Personally, I like to make sure that our customers are properly informed and protected. We hate waste stock. Minimising the impact of freight by ordering on-line and selling locally. We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Reducing house-hold waste
A quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from waste food production. Reducing house-hold waste can be overwhelming and its hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with the outside packaging. Are you ready to feel the satisfaction that comes from reducing the amount of rubbish and lighter council rubbish bins. Chose cardboard carry boxes are made locally from 100% compositable and bio-degradable cardboard which won’t stay around in the environment for 1000 years.
Our amber bottles are 100% recyclable and can be repurposed. We aim to recover 80% of the bottles purchased by our customers by using a reward incentive program. For every bottle reused in our recycling solution we are greening our carbon footprint and reducing waste. A realistic goal is to provide our customers with simple ideas to recycle our syrup bottles. You to can play a part in the movement for change.
Earth Day the Botanikos way.
At Botanikos we love keeping things simple: Make a specimen vase with the amber bottles. Use our bottle for table décor or plant cuttings. They are cute portable and make lovely gifts for friends. Be inspired by our specimen bottle feature image.
Finally to, to celebrate World Environment Day on Saturday 5 June, we have added a link here to10 thought-provoking sustainability podcasts to plug into while you work from home