But there are plenty of small things we can all do that add up to a huge positive effect. Since the kitchen is the center of most homes today - having expanded from a place to cook to a multipurpose room - the things we do there have an impact on the entire home.
From the food we buy to the way we use energy, clean or dispose of kitchen waste, there are many easy steps that allow us to cause less damage to the environment - and our bodies.
Jeffrey Hollender, president and founder of the natural cleaning products company Seventh Generation, said something as simple as using coffee filters and paper towels that aren't whitened with sodium hypochlorite, aka chlorine bleach, helps. As paper bleached with sodium hypochlorite breaks down in landfills, it creates dioxin, a dangerous chemical and known carcinogen.
"We as individuals dramatically underestimate the impact we can have on these problems," said Hollender.
Here are some changes people can make in the kitchen that will have a positive impact on their health and the environment.
BUYING FOOD
Organic food is raised without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Eating organic foods means we're not ingesting chemicals absorbed by, say, the lettuce as it grew, the soil wasn't polluted, and farmworkers weren't exposed to those chemicals either, said Vicky Newman, director of Nutrition Services for the University of California San Diego Cancer Prevention and Control Program.
When possible, eating seasonal, locally raised food - found at the many farmers markets around the county - is important, too. Doing so means fossil fuel like petroleum wasn't burned transporting an out-of-season nectarine from Chile to California.
"It's probably more nutritious, too, because they can pick it when it's more ripe and at its fullest from a nutritional standpoint," Newman said. "Picking fruit when it's not ripe and then forcing them to ripen is not the most nutritious."
When choosing beef, Newman believes that grass-fed beef makes sense because large quantities of corn that could have fed humans weren't used to fatten up a cow. Grass-fed is more expensive because it takes longer for the cow to grow big on grass than on corn. But grass-fed beef has less saturated fat than grain-fed beef and more omega-3 fatty acids and CLA, or conjugated linolenic acid.
With seafood, sustainability means avoiding species that are over-fished or raised in farms that pollute the water. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list at www.mbayaq.org details which species are good to eat and which should be eaten with caution or avoided.
Nancy Casady, manager of the Ocean Beach (San Diego) People's Food Co-Op, a primarily organic and vegetarian market in its 35th year, said its members are dedicated to trying to live lightly on the land.
She recommends buying in bulk: it uses up less plastic to buy one big jug of water than 24 little bottles. Casady also avoids foods that have been highly processed. That means yes to corn and cheese, but no to Cheetos.
"Eat like your grandma did," Casady said. "Go back to basics like grains and beans."
SAVING ENERGY
Conserving electricity means we use less fossil-fuel energy. For most families, the kitchen is one of the primary areas where energy can be wasted or saved.
"There are environmental benefits to saving energy, but what most consumers are interested in is saving money," said Mark Gaines, director of customer programs for San Diego Gas & Electric.
Aside from central air-conditioning, the refrigerator is the No. 1 appliance using electricity. The refrigerator cools more efficiently when it's full, but not so full that the air can't circulate. The coils on back need to be cleaned twice a year, and the seals should be checked.
"One test is if you stick a dollar bill in the seal and close the door," Gaines said. "If it pulls out easily, the seal probably needs to be replaced."
When buying appliances, make sure they're Energy Star models, which exceed federal energy-efficiency standards.
Kitchen lighting matters, too, because so much time is spent there, Gaines said. Incandescent bulbs use more energy and heat up the room. Compact fluorescent bulbs stay cooler and use 25% of the electricity of traditional bulbs; newer light-emitting diode, or LED, bulbs use 10% of the energy of an incandescent bulb.
And thanks to a deal worked out with Home Depot, purchases of compact fluorescent and LED bulbs are eligible for in-store rebates.
CLEANING
Studies by the Environmental Protection Agency have found that the air inside most homes is even more polluted than the air outside - even in smoggy Southern California. We're doing it to ourselves, as we bring fumes from oven cleaners, bleach, disinfecting sprays and artificial fragrances into our homes.
In his book "Naturally Clean" (New Society, $16.95), Hollender and his co-authors explain that the most harmful pollutants in the home can be volatile organic compounds, strong-smelling things like synthetic fragrances, ammonia, oven cleaners and chlorine bleach, especially when it's used in the dishwasher. When sodium hypochlorite is used in the dishwasher, it's turned into steam, which can be easily inhaled by whoever opens the appliance.
"From my perspective, that is the No. 1 chemical you want to get out of your house," Hollender said.
Author and natural cleaning expert Annie Bond recommends reading warnings on cleaning products. She thinks it's especially important for people with kids, because children are more vulnerable to the effects of chemicals.
"To buy safer products, (avoid those with) signal words like 'danger' or 'fatal if swallowed,' " Bond said. "Don't buy anything stronger than a 'caution.' "
Bond became "The Green Heloise" after she was sickened by chemical exposure and had to learn to do without most household cleaners.
The Healthy Living section on the site www.care2.com lists her recipes for effective non-toxic cleaners made from five ingredients: distilled white vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, liquid detergent and tea tree oil.
RECYCLING
We all know we're supposed to recycle. But the benefits that go beyond not filling up the landfill are a little hazy. Jennifer Ott tries to make it a more immediate in her job as the education outreach coordinator for the city of San Diego's Environmental Services Department.
"Recycling on a global level saves resources; it reduces pollution and water usage and energy use," Ott said. "Making a can from recycled aluminum uses less energy."
Knowing what's recycleable can be confusing, because the triangle symbol just tells what kind of plastic an item is.
In general, paper bags, cardboard boxes, metal cans and glass bottles are all recycleable. With plastic, its just the containers with small necks, such as water bottles. Clam-shell packages used for berries seldom an be recycled locally. Plastic grocery bags aren't recycleable, either; Ott said they should be returned to the grocery store for reuse.
Food scraps from produce and grains can easily be turned into compost, which allows them to go back to the earth and nourish the plants in your garden.
GREEN ENERGY TIPS
- Show your fridge some love: clean the coils, check the seal, make sure it's an Energy Star.
- Use compact fluorescent or LED bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs.
- For reheating, use the microwave instead of the oven.
- Use the right size pan and the proper cooking temperature.
- Cook enough to eat some now and freeze the rest for later.
- Buy organic, locally raised foods in season at the farmers market.
- Opt for sustainably raised seafood and grass-fed beef.
- Use a cloth shopping bag.
- Buy in bulk - avoid convenience meals in disposable packaging.
- Don't buy food with more than five ingredients or ones you can't pronounce.
- Opt for non-petroleum based cleaners.
- Limit use of ammonia and bleach - especially with kids around.
- Switch to unbleached paper towels - they don't leach dioxin.
- Use old towels or T-shirts for cleaning instead of paper towels.
- Make your own old-school cleaning solutions.
- Recycle most glass, plastic bottles and metal cans.
- Start a compost pile to use up produce and grain scraps.
- Pour cooking oil onto towels and throw in garbage - not down the sink.
- Take plastic grocery bags back to the store; recycle paper ones.
- Reduce household trash by using reusable plates and cloth napkins.
