Green Daily

Every time I watch TV, it seems there's another ad for some single-use product that means more non-recyclable packaging ending up in landfills. According to Wikipedia, containers and packaging currently represent 32 percent of all municipal solid waste. But beyond the ridiculousness of single-use packaged food items, most of what we eat should not come in packages in the first place.

Several years back someone told me a good way to make sure you're eating healthy is to avoid the center aisles of the supermarket as much as possible. It's true. Most of what we need and the healthiest food lies on the outskirts, such as produce, dairy, meat and bakery products. The rest of the store is filled with packaged food that's been refined and processed literally to death and filled with preservatives. Reader's Digest identifies some major culprits. GMOs could be in these products as well. (Packaged organic products are the exception, though still can be poor food choices.) None of these things is good for our bodies or the environment.

So I still stick to that advice I heard long ago. I figure I'm doing myself, my family and the Earth a big favor.

Skip ahead

• What does organic really mean?
• Is your favorite restaurant green certified?
• The benefits of grass fed beef