Firstly, read the labels on your food. See where the food has come from. Try to avoid buying food from a far when we know they grow naturally in Ireland. Potatoes are one such example. Often grocery stores stock Israeli and Egyptian potatoes which have to fly thousands of miles to get here. Onions, cabbage, leeks and salads are other examples. These foods all grow well most of the year in Ireland. See our seasonal charts for more information on what grows well in Ireland.Secondly, become more conscious of the seasons and try to buy more seasonal produce. Seasonal produce will be those foods that grow naturally with the time of the year. In Ireland, berries grow naturally in the months of August and September. So buying Irish strawberries and blackberries in these months will mean you are avoiding unnecessary food miles and supporting the local economy. Planning your grocery shopping around seasonal foods mean you will be buying foods when they are at their freshest as they did not have to travel for up to a week to get here.You can also commit to buying more organic produce. Organic farming methods are less energy intensive then their conventional counterparts because of lower (or zero) amounts fertiliser and pesticide inputs[1]. Buy local, Irish organic to support organic farmers and to prevent the unnecessary importation of organic produce by air-freight, which defeats the point of buying organic in the first place!There are a number of different labelling systems to ensure quality of food products and indicate if the food is sustainable and/or locally sourced.When it comes to buying fish try to be fish smart- again, read labels and find out if the fish is sustainably sourced. Look for the Marine Stewardship Council logo on cans of fish, on tines of tuna and generally aim to support ethical and sustainable food companies.You can also support Fairtrade when you can. We all have our favorite foods that have to come from afar such as bananas, coffee and chocolate. When buying these foods, try to support ethically traded food products. The Fairtrade logo is easily recognisable and denotes that the growers of the product receive a fair deal in the international trade.When it comes to waste there is a lot you can do.Waste Reduction in four steps:Reducing your waste will not only reduce your carbon footprint but will also save you money! It is estimated that in Britain alone, £420 is wasted annually on food that is thrown out, which has huge environmental implications.Here are four ways to reduce your food waste and save yourself money1. Perfect Portions Plan the portion sizes of your meals, and cook enough for you and your guests, and maybe enough to take for your lunch the next day. Avoid making too much and throwing out excess. Everyday, people everywhere make too much food and end up throwing it out.2. Shop Wisely Have an idea of what meals you might cook when shopping, so you don’t buy perishable foods that are then are wasted because you don’t have the other ingredients you need. Never shop when you are hungry!!!3. Avoid unnecessary packaging and plastics when shopping. Farmers markets are ideal for avoiding excess packaging as the produce is not usually wrapped in plastics. Avoid buying plastic bags by bringing your own.Did You Know? Use the handy portion calculator on the following link, which measures that for 2 people 280g of beef is sufficient, while 1 mug of dried rice is enough for a pot of boiled rice for 4 people. http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions 4. Be crafty with your wasteLeft- Overs! Avoid making too much food but if you do, save extras for tasty left-overs. Be an environmental and economic genius by bringing left-overs to work and school for lunch. Lots of left-overs can also be frozen as handy meals for some other time. Stick on a little label with the date made and the type of food. Clean plastic containers from takeaway meals are ideal for this.Compost! Invest in (or make) a composter! A composter is like a hungry pig that will ‘eat’ all your scraps turning them into valuable soil and compost that you can then use for growing your own vegetables or starting a new herb garden. Everything you can eat can go in the composter including some other materials that are often thrown out- potato skins, teabags and rotten fruits and vegetables.Recycle your plastics, cartoons, cardboard Wash out cartons, tins and bottles, separate the different materials and put into recycling bags. Keep and re-use tubs and cartons for packed lunches or use to store other household items, or for freezing leftovers.[1] Energy use in organic farming systems ADAS Consulting for MAFF, Project OF0182, DEFRA, London 2001Contact us for more information.