Rice and Dried Fruits: Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Food Choices

Changing your eating habits can quickly become a headache. That’s why is is not advisable to say goodbye to all your guilty pleasures overnight but rather to add healthy and sustainable foods like dried fruits and rice to your meals.

What Is Sustainable Food?

Sustainable food is “the set of food practices that aim to feed human beings in sufficient quality and quantity, today and tomorrow, with respect for the environment, while being accessible economically and remunerative throughout the food chain.” In short, this type of food is good for your health, for the economy and the environment.

A diet is considered sustainable if it meets these six criteria:

• A diet that respects the pillars of sustainable development
• Low power consumption
• Reduced waste
• Fair income for producers
• Accessibility for all (developed and developing countries)
• A diet that takes into account environmental limits so that future generations benefit from sufficient food quantities (and quality!)

Sustainable Food Choices with Rice and Dried Fruits

Sustainable food is based on three pillars: societal, economic and environmental and rice and dried fruits completely fulfill the definition of sustainable food. Transitioning to a sustainable food system by incorporating rice and dried fruits into your diet would greatly reduce your carbon footprint. 

Why Consume Sustainable Foods Like Rice And Dried Fruits?

• health, to best protect your body from external aggressions – food ingredients, cosmetics, or even household products;
• the planet by limiting itself to the consumption of environment-friendly products or services fighting against climate change; 
• Society, for example, by avoiding buying from brands with questionable working conditions or even contrary to human rights. 

These new habits also often save money by buying less and choosing longer-lasting products.

Products for a More Sustainable Diet

Changing your eating habits can quickly become a headache. It is best to gradually get used to a better diet to manage, reduce or even eliminate our bad consumption habits. Here are examples of rice and dried fruits that are good for your health, for the environment and for your taste buds.

Rice

Rice is among one of the most consumed cereals in the world. This is why it is becoming urgent to vary the different types of rice (white rice, brown rice, black rice, wild rice) in our diet. It is, therefore, necessary to favour whole grains (brown rice), which are much better for your health. They are called “complete” because the entire grain and its envelope are preserved. Precisely in this envelope, the fibres, proteins and vitamins are concentrated. Eating whole-grain rice reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduces the feeling of hunger, restores energy and reduces stress.

We, therefore, advise you to favour brown rice or wild rice. The cereal rice is full of fibre, vitamins and minerals, so don’t forget to include this amazing cereal into your diet.

Dried Fruits

Dried fruits are packed with many health and nutritional benefits. They are amazing energy sources, and you can eat them at any time of the day as a snack. A few grams of dried fruits are enough to meet your daily dietary needs. You can also make your dishes healthy by incorporating dried fruits into them and cherish the many benefits they provide.

According to a study carried out in 2012 on the water footprint of different crops, peanuts, almonds, and pistachios represent respectively 4000 L/ kg, 6800 L/kg, and 8200 L/kg. So as with cereals, you should not eat just any variety because not all of them are sustainable.

Good to know: Nuts can replace aperitif cakes. To be enjoyed in its raw form or to be transformed into a puree. 

How to Adopt a Sustainable Diet?

In addition to eating foods that are more responsible for the environment, there are several practices you can adopt for a sustainable diet.

Reduce Your Meat Consumption For A Sustainable Diet.

This is not obvious to everyone, and yet it is one of the most important practices for changing your eating habits. Meat is one of the main factors responsible for greenhouse gases and intensive use of water and resources. We are not telling you to become a vegetarian at all costs. However, it is not necessary to eat meat every day. You can find many substitutes like cereals, dried fruits etc.

Favour Short Circuits and Seasonal Products.

Another piece of advice that may seem obvious. And yet not respected enough. Buying food products that are not in season means that they arrive by ship or plane from the country of production. And we are not teaching you anything by telling you that the carbon footprint of an airplane flight is the largest of all modes of transport. Eating imported fruits or vegetables generates an oil consumption 10 to 20 times higher than the consumption of local fruits or vegetables. Favouring short circuits (stores close to your home) makes it possible, for example, to reduce these emissions. And to help you in your sustainable food approach.

Buy Your Products In The Right Stores Or On The Right Sites.

A first step towards a more sustainable diet can be to shop at an organic store. You can find organic stores everywhere, especially if you live in a big city. On the Internet, the offer is even greater. Many sites offer a wide choice of sustainable and quality rice and dried fruits from organic farming, and the best-known in Canada is obviously Adnoor.

Today, we are witnessing a significant development of zero-waste grocery stores in the world. In these stores, you will not find any packaging around the food. You must bring your own bags and jars. You can find organic and zero-waste stores in Canada. 

Visit the ADNOOR website for Premium Long-Grain Basmati Rice, Premium Long-Grain Sella Rice, Brown Super Kernel Basmati Rice, Nuts, Seeds, and Dried Fruits. We take pride in saying that we are Canada’s best basmati rice suppliers and have been the importers, exporters, wholesalers, distributors, and co-packers of various nuts and grains in Canada for the last 25 years. We aim to provide our customers with quality products so they trust us. So without wasting time, visit our website and order what you need.

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