Pizza
Big Picture
Pizza: a food that holds a special place in the hearts of many. However pleasing pizza is to the palate, it may be the offspring of entirely un-green actions! If it's not delivery, and it's not DiGiorno, then you've taken a positive step. Let's delve into thinking green when grabbing a slice of pizza pie!
Factoids n' Stuff
- Pizza is a $20 billion industry in the US. (source)
- 93 percent of Americans eat a slice at least once a month. (source)
- Nearly 70 percent of Super Bowl viewers eat pizza while watching the game. (source)
- The average American puts away about 23 pounds of pizza per year. (source)
- In Feltham, London, a record for the farthest food delivery was achieved by Lucy Clough of Domino’s. A vegetarian supreme pizza was cooked on November 17, 2004 and traveled a distance of 10,532 miles to its delivery point in Melbourne, Australia on November 19. (source)
- The most expensive pizza ever created was made by Scottish restaurateur Domenico Crolla, who cooked a pizza that included toppings such as sunblush-tomato sauce, Scottish smoked salmon, medallions of venison, edible gold, and lobster marinated in the finest cognac and champagne-soaked caviar. The pizza was sold at auction for charity for £2,150. (source)
What Goes In?
Think about where the pizza ingredients come from. Dough and tomato sauce are often made in-house, but they had to get the flour and tomatoes from somewhere. Fresh ingredients are preferable to those shipped in a can. Where does the cheese come from? Does it come from cows not treated by growth hormones? What kinds of chemicals or drugs are already in the pizza's ingredients? Or are the ingredients organic? Are there steroids, antibiotics, or hormones in the meat toppings?
What Comes Out?
Leftover pizza can be great for breakfast the next day; it can also sit in the fridge forever and then end up in a dumpster. Think about the portions and if any food is wasted. How does the establishment dispose of the leftover food? It is thrown it away or is it composted?
Look at the way the food is being served? Does the to-go packaging minimize waste? Do they use paper or linens for tablecloths, napkins, and place mats? Are the utensils plastic, made from potatoes or corn, or are they reusable? Do they recycle? Do they encourage patrons to recycle?
How's it Run?
When you think pizza, you think delivery. Consider how the pizzeria makes its deliveries, even if you are walking there to pick up your pie (you are, after all, still giving them your dollars). Do they motor around in trucks or wheel on bicycles? Do they coordinate deliveries to make fewer trips and save gas?
What is their dishwashing process? How do they clean the restaurant? What do they use to wipe down the tables? How do they wash their linens? Do they buy ingredients in bulk?
What They Care About
Do they understand the interest in organic and local foods and do they know why that’s important? Do the employees seem happy? Do they know where their ingredients come from? Are they happy and eager to divulge this information? Are they proud of their supply chain? Is the establishment concerned with quality or quantity?
What to Ask
- Have you considered reusable pizza boxes for take-out or delivery?
- Are the pizza boxes made from recycled materials?
- What types of vehicles do you use to deliver?
- Do you minimize waste?
- Does this pepperoni/sausage/Canadian bacon come from a factory farm, or was it naturally raised?
- How was my pizza prepared?
- What do you do with the leftover pizza? Do you compost it?
- What kinds of chemicals do you use to wash dishes and clean the restaurant?
- What are you doing to conserve the energy, water, and resources your restaurant uses?
What to Do
- Buy local or organic – find out which menu items use locally-sourced, organic ingredients and order those.
- Going easy on the pepperoni is easier on the planet. Choose a vegetable or non-meat topping more often than not.
- Walk to your local pizza joint. You'll get some fresh air, save money on gas, and prevent more carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere.
- If dining in, take your own bag or container to bring leftovers home.
- Split your pizza with friends or family members. Since a lot of restaurants serve super-sized portions, more waste is generated. Split more, waste less!
- Ask the folks behind the counter a lot of questions. This will show them you, as a customer, care about sustainability!
