Changing your habits, one gin and tonic at a time!
This Friday is Earth Day! It's a time to reflect on our consumption habits and take steps to improve them throughout the year. The goal is not to be perfect on the first try, but to set achievable goals that can be sustained over time and become habits. Here are 3 easy ways to reduce your environmental impact and some tips on how to apply them when it comes to making your favorite cocktail!
Reduce food waste
Food waste is any food intended for human consumption that is lost or thrown away throughout the food chain, whether in the field, in transportation, during processing, at the grocery store, in restaurants and hotels or at home. And in our homes in Canada, we are the true champions of North America...
Every week, Canadian households throw away an average of $20 worth of food. Over the course of a year, that's about $1,100 or 140kg of food wasted.
The 4 words to remember to reduce food waste at home are: plan, store, prepare and share. Planning your meals in advance will help you reduce the purchase of unnecessary food and determine the right amount of ingredients to buy. Then, preserving your food means, yes, making sure that the storage conditions are good, but also not always relying on the "best before" date indicated on some foods. Check out this fact sheet for more information.
Did you know that our bottles are resealable? In fact, you don't need a bottle opener to open your 1642! You can put the cap back on after use and the product will keep its freshness for another 2-3 days in the refrigerator. You can keep it up to 5 days, but the product will have lost some of its effervescence. There are also wine bottle stoppers that fit 1642 bottles very well!
Don't have the inspiration to prepare your surplus in the kitchen? Check out Ricardo's Ricardo's zero waste chronicles. Finally, don't hesitate to share with others if you find yourself with too much food... or Gin Tonic!
Buy local
Eating locally means less distance between your food and your plate (or glass), which reduces greenhouse gas emissions from transportation! Less greenhouse gas emissions = less pollution. The logic is the same for any other product on the market! For example, we make great spirits in Quebec! Favouring a Quebec gin made from grain to bottle over a gin from England, for example, is a good way to reduce your environmental footprint. The same logic applies to Tonic... 😉
To make sure you are promoting local, look for the "Aliments du Québec" or "Aliments préparés au Québec" logos on the products you put in your grocery cart. Another good way to eat local is to eat foods that are in season. Take a walk to your local market this summer! You'll see that a cocktail with Quebec strawberries is so much better.
Consigning bottles and cans
Did you know that the 1642 bottles are returnable? Take them back to your local grocery store the next time you finish your 4-pack! A small action that becomes a habit... and makes a difference.
In Quebec, returnable cans and bottles are 100% recycled. When you return your container, you reuse the material at its source, you reduce energy waste and polluting emissions. You significantly reduce your ecological footprint. By giving a new life to your containers, you participate in the collective effort to improve the planet's environment.