Big Picture

When you go out to a restaurant for your food, it's easy to assume that restaurateurs care about the food they are giving you – where it comes from, what’s been added to it, and how far it had to travel to get to you. But what's going on behind the scenes? It’s time to explore the art of dining out and being green – not so easy in Boston, but getting easier. The more questions we ask, the more we will inspire change.

Factoids n' Stuff

• Your average cheeseburger accounts for approximately 6.3 - 6.8 lbs of carbon emissions. (Jamais Cascio, "The Cheeseburger Footprint" January 2007)
• Reusing a glass jar 5 times at home can save about half of the energy a commercial packager consumes to make 5 disposable containers. (Pimentel, David, and Marcia Pimentel. Energy use in food processing for nutrition and development, accessed September 1, 2006.)
• In 2005, American farmers used more than 22 million tons of chemical fertilizers, turning agriculture into a leading source of water pollution in the U.S. (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service,"U.S. Fertilizer Use and Price. September 25, 2006, accessed October 13, 2006.)
• Approximately 80% of U.S. ammonia emissions come from livestock manure on factory farms. (Doorn, Michael R.J., et al. Review of Emissions Factors and Methodologies to Estimate Ammonia Emissions from Animal Waste Handling, Research Triangle Park (NC): Environmental Protection Agency, 2002: ii.)
• Herbicide tolerant GE (genetically engineered) crops have created weed resistance, causing pesticide use to increase by 70 million lbs between 1997 and 2003. (SustainableTable.org)
• Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, found in Teflon (a chemical used to make nonstick pots and pans) and paper plates, has been found to cause cancer in animals. Once released into the environment, PFOA does not break down and remains there indefinitely. (Environmental Working Group "Is There an Extra Ingredient in Nonstick Pans?" July 2005)

What Goes In?

Where does the food come from? What kinds of chemicals or drugs are already in the food? Are there steroids, antibiotics, or hormones in the meat? Is the food fresh or did it come from a can? How is the food prepared? What kinds of pots and pans are being used?

What Comes Out?

Does the food taste good? Are the portions too big? How much food is wasted? What do they do with that wasted food? Throw it away? How is the food being served – are they served on plastic, paper, or real dishes? Do they use paper or linens for tablecloths, napkins, and place mats? Do they recycle? Are they encouraging you to recycle?

How's it Run?

Do the employees seem happy and healthy? Do they take the time to explain what you are getting – i.e., do they know where the food comes from and are they happy to tell you about it? Do they have a genuine care for quality rather than quantity? What is their dishwashing process? How do they clean the restaurant? What do they use to wipe down the tables/bar? How do they wash their linens?

What They Care About

Do they understand the interest in organic and local foods and do they know why that’s important? Have they researched local suppliers and do they think about meeting the farmers or fishermen who provide them with food? Are they thinking of ways to offer more natural choices, or do they just care about making a buck?

What to Ask

• What’s been added to my food?
• Where does my food come from?
• Is this food local, organic, or both?
• Does this meat come from a factory farm, or was it naturally raised?
• How far did my food have to travel to get to my mouth?
• How was my food prepared?
• What do you do with the leftover food? Do you compost it?
• What kinds of chemicals do you use to wash dishes and clean the restaurant?
• What are you doing to help the negative impact that the mainstream food supply currently has on the environment?
• Do you know what your carbon footprint is (given all the different foods you are providing) and what are you doing to offset your carbon footprint?
• What are you doing to conserve the energy, water, and resources your restaurant uses?

What to Do

• Buy local – find out what on the menu is local and choose that!
• Choose organic items from the menu.
• Eat a little less animal protein, and get high quality naturally raised meat – you saw the stats above – you CAN make a difference.
• Ask a lot of questions – you’ll know what’s up by how your questions are answered and it’s the only way to make the restaurant aware that their customers are paying attention.
• Take your own bag or container for leftovers – pretty self explanatory but this makes a huge difference.
• Split your meal – most restaurants provide us with out of control serving sizes – split more and waste less!
• Get an appetizer instead of an entrée – saves you money and the serving sizes are smaller so there is less wasted.
• Look for restaurants that use cast iron or stainless steel pots and pans.

Find Out More

• Green Restaurant Association
• Local Harvest Info on Organic Restaurants
• Low Impact Living - Find Organic Restaurants & Grocery Stores
• Happy Cow’s Vegetarian Guide to Restaurants and Food Stores
• Eat Well Guide
• The Meatrix
• Environmental Working Group
• Sustainable Table