What Becky found …

During the “comb the home” sequence, Becky found four areas where the Jones family had a huge opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their health. Becky gave them a mission to address: 1) High fructose corn syrup, 2) Trans-fats, 3) Farmed Shrimp, 4) Commodity Pork.

Look for items like these in your kitchen and consider joining the Jones family in their mission to make-over their food choices.

Are you ready for a food make-over?

High Fructose Corn Syrup and Trans-fats: Becky asked the family to go through all of their cupboards and replace all of the items that listed high-fructose corn syrup and trans-fats on their nutritional labels. Becky got them started by replacing their standard chocolate cake mix and corn bread mix with healthier versions from PCC Natural Markets, a purveyor of organic, local, in-season foods.

Farmed Shrimp: Becky took the whole Jones family to Mutual Fish Company, a fish market in south Seattle. At Mutual Fish, Becky recommended eating sardines, a fish lower on the food chain; wild Alaskan salmon with no artificial dyes; and farmed Arctic Char. Becky pointed out that while farmed salmon and shrimp are unsavory choices, farmed Arctic char is very sustainable. In fact, it made the “Super-Green List.”

Commodity Pork: Becky explained that most Americans get way more protein than their body requires. Sustainably raised meat can be affordable if families are willing to lower the amount of meat they consume each week. Replacing much of the meat in our diets with produce leads to a much lower carbon footprint and a healthier body.  Becky delivered a box of produce courtesy of the Full Circle Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. In CSA programs, individuals buy a “subscription” to regularly delivered produce. This allows local farms to survive occasional crop failures that could otherwise devastate their profits.  

Recipe: The Jones family loves eating shrimp and Becky helped them incorporate everything they learned so far into a stellar dinner: wild Louisiana prawns with cheesy grits and organic greens. Read the complete recipe on the Mission: Sustainable blog.