New Delhi: When it comes to issues of global warming, green house gases and pollution, even the smallest efforts made by different individuals count, but where to start always remains the big question.
Well, for the starters you can begin with your food plate. The food for thought here is: ‘Home-grown’, literally.
A healthy plate of home-grown food is a step towards healthy environment, says expert Sangeeta Khanna on the eve of World Environment Day.
“Our personal health is directly linked to the health of the planet. We need to take the responsibility to make our sources of food sustainable.
“Growing some of our own food is a wonderful way to nourish our body and cleanse the environment at the same time,” says Sangeeta Khanna, renowned food writer and nutrition consultant here.
But, how can something as small as growing our own vegetables at home change the environment for better?
Seeing urban-farming as one-ready solution for the problems in the air, Sangeeta says important is to nip the problem in the bud, and here the major part of the problem is “food scraps...the garbage” creating a pile of land-fills in the city.
“But if you are into urban-farming, you can segregate your garbage and make use of the organic waste for compost. Doing this you are preventing yourself from the foul smell and the environment from harmful gases,” she added.
While the home-grown food helps solving the garbage problem, the food writer says that in the scorching summer a “green cover on your rooftop” is no less than a blessing as it helps in cooling your place.
According to Shabnam Kapur, co-founder of Khetify, a Delhi based urban-farming startup, “All you need is a little space for pot, to grow food. It can be anywhere, balcony, terrace, rooftop, or even kitchen window sill,” says Shabnam.
Talking about the reduced nutrition value of vegetables due to being transported from far away places, she says that growing it at home will also help conserve energy spent in transporting it.
“Spinach is coming from 100s of kms by trucks. During that process everyday some of the produce is losing nutrition,” she said.
