Eat Green Eat Clean

Can changing our eating habits lessen climate change? Can our food choices deter global warming? That's what the New York Times Food Section posed today in an unusual but thoughtful section. It's a keeper section full of ideas and suggestions.

The writers at the food section teamed up with the environmental writers from the newspapers to create an interesting guide for cleaner and greener eating. Julia Moskin along with Brad Plumer wrote most of the articles. Usual contributors such as Melissa Clark and Tejal Rao delved into kelp and tomatoes. Answers to such common questions  as do what I eat have an effect on climate change and should humans stop eating meat all together. There are also answers to such questions as which foods have the largest impact and what kind of seafood should I eat. It is a good guide to bring along for green food shopping. There are also assurances to vegetarian worries and concerns, especially about switching over to a meat free diet.The section includes different charts such as the environmental impact of cow's milk as opposed to other milks such as soy,rice , oat and almond.Another chart on the percentage of various food waste is an eye opener.It will definitely change some habits. There is also a quiz on the back page that everyone should take. Home chefs may change their shopping and cooking habits after answering a few questions.

Of course there are recipes along with articles on food but with a sustainable twist.Two must reads are Kim Severson's piece on how climate change is affecting regional crops and Somini Sengupta's one on how different countries - including the US - and their eating habits affect global warming.Ms. Severson takes us around the US , from Maine where an erratic frost season is damaging the blue gems to California's year round artichoke season where warmer weather is encouraging the choke's enemy the artichoke plume moth.Ms. Sengupta's article is inspirational. She has been to different countries such as Venezuela and Viet Nam but it is Kansas that provides us with some green culinary advice. Professor Devon Mihesuah , a professor of indigenous history  and culture at the University of Kansas has a garden and diet of the original indigenous Kansans, the Choctaws. This is dandelion salad from her garden and wild onions from neighboring fields. She doesn't spray weeds, because bees need them to  pollinate.Melissa Clark gives us kelp recipes while Tejal Rao explores climate change's effects on tomatoes and how farmers are creating hardier breeds. Even Eric Asimov of  the weekly The Pour column weighs in.Wine drinkers should ask about all aspects of wine making ,from the bottle itself to mowing the cover crop and the amount of electricity used.

How we eat and drink affects the planet. Use the Times guide to help you make crucial decisions. Even a small culinary change is a change in the right direction.,