We have created the Feed Your Happy Campaign because we believe that the food we eat is becoming more and more riddled with chemicals, preservatives and artificial sugars. Fresh, homemade meals are becoming a thing of the past as ready meals and budget chain restaurants take over. This campaign is all about how the food we eat, and where it comes from affects our lives and the chain reaction it can have on the farmers & factories producing it. As a nation we are slowly consuming more and more unethical products, without even realising it. Large factories have giant carbon footprints, puffing out harmful gasses and disposing of waste to land fill sites every day, this is becoming a problem for not just the U.K but our planet as well! We’re know it’s become very difficult to go completely plastic free, as the stuff is everywhere, and we take our hats off to those of you that have managed to do so, but there are some ways in which we can reduce our own personal waste. Every little helps!
How does what we eat contribute to the waste problem?
There is a patch of floating rubbish in the Pacific Ocean, sounds normal right? You might be thinking there’s millions of patches of garbage floating around our oceans, well the reality is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is roughly the size of Texas and contains about 3.5 million tons of our rubbish, it can actually be seen from space. The Clean Water Action charity (CWA) have been clearing any of this rubbish that washes up on beaches, they found that 49% of the floating rubbish is fast food wrappers, the most common brands of trash found floating were McDonalds, Burger King and Starbucks.
In theory, if we cut out fast food then the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, that is killing our sealife and cluttering our waters will be reduced by almost half! The sad truth is that if we don’t make a change, the amount of plastic in our oceans is said to triple within 10 years and by the year 2050 the plastic will have outweighed the fish in the sea. By cutting out fast food restaurants, you will not only feel better but you will be helping the planet. If you do cave then simply try to recycle your waste afterwards!
Simple ways to cut back?
As we said, it’s incredibly hard to completely banish plastic from your life, but there are some ways in which you can reduce your waste. We are aware that we send out parcels to customers, sometimes containing bubble wrap and plastic air bubbles. To cut back our own waste contribution we are using more and more recycled boxes wherever possible and using old boxes to pad out the insides of all customer orders when the item is less fragile, we hope to one day cut back our contribution of waste even further.
So how can you do it? It’s all about making little choices here and there, which all add up. A great way to start is by making a conscious effort to recycle your home waste, teaching children to do the same at a young age is also very important. Another tip is to keep reusable bags in your car or handbag, ready for you to take into the shop with you. If you’re a regular coffee house goer then invest in a quality travel mug and use it in place of the standard plastic cups.
What is the campaign about?
Over the course of the ‘Feed Your Happy’ campaign we will be launching a series of blogs and articles, filled with tips, tricks and recipes such as how to make budget friendly, healthy family meals that everybody will enjoy, and how to ‘eat right’ for your gut! Our aim with this campaign is to help our readers to live their best lives, eating healthy food that tastes good and does good, whilst being kind to the environment. If each of us could make one small change to each day we could slowly make a much greater change!
The first blog in this series is all about how can eating healthily make us and our guts happier. Check out the first in the Feed Your Happy series, Gut Health: The Real Secret To Weight Loss & Flawless Skin.