Did you know 17 percent of fossil fuel consumed in the United States is used to produce the food we eat?

During a recent visit to the local Good Foods store, the checkout clerk make a comment that made me question the impact of personal diet choices on the environment as well as individual health.

When the young man handed my package to me, he said, “Eating green requires two activities: having the knowledge and then, the funds to support your choice. Because I’m a college student, I can’t afford to eat green.”

To be candid, as the descendent of an agricultural heritage, I find it difficult to relate to people who view healthy eating as foreign or a pricy choice. During my grandparents’ era, they were food self sufficient, including staples such as sugar and flour. My parents, while not as self sufficient, still produced an estimated 90 percent of their diet. And I most certainly do not rank in either category, still, my husband and I ‘kitchen garden’ nine months of each year resulting in enough food for ourselves, extended family and friends and neighbors. So, I have a problem relating to people who view their diet as totally dependent on others.

A green diet is similar to other ultimate green, bio-diverse experiences. It is not about sacrificing food choices or complying with some odd combination of a food group. Instead, it is in its most simplistic form a healthy, diverse diet that involves eating real foods.

During my grandparents' and parents' era, food was organic. Unfortunately, as we moved away from my grandparents’ era, diets became chock-full of processed foods, refined grains and pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables shipped to us from thousands of miles away.

Presently, because of the introduction of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, choosing organic grown food, in general, allows you to rest a bit easier, knowing produce, meat and milk were produced in a way that's safer for you and for the environment. Still, issues occur.

It was during the past year that due to a contaminated water source, thousands of pre-packaged ‘organic’ greens were pulled from grocer shelves. So, it appears there will never be a totally safe process. Perhaps one alternative is to purchase locally grown foods.

The average present day food item travels over 1,500 miles to get to your plate. On the other hand, the definition of local can vary depending on where you live -- from a 75-mile to a 500-mile radius; but for central Virginia, a 75-mile radius is sufficient. Within this radius, not only will you support local economy but foods would be in season and fresh.

Related to choosing a staple such as flour think brown. This grain group includes wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal and barley. Naturally low in fat and high in vitamins ‘whole’ grains have not been processed. And fortunately it’s easy to incorporate whole grains in a diet; for examples, use whole grain bread for sandwiches, order brown rice with your Chinese takeout or purchase whole wheat pasta to create Italian dishes.

Still, ‘man does not live by bread alone’; so, when greening a diet choose organic beverages too. Again, overall distance shipped should be a consideration but a more important activity is read the label for additives and production activities. Item labels should read ‘grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers’.

Another important consideration is packaging. As consumers, we have the power to shift food production as well as its packaging. So, familiarize your self with containers that can be recycled and then, purchase products provided in recycle material. Also, consider the packaging you chose to transport your purchases.

If at all possible, avoid dependency on vendor provided bags. Plastic bags are made from petroleum and only about one percent of the estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion used worldwide are recycled each year. So, bring your own!

A number of local grocers such as Good Food or Ukrops provide reusable tote bags. If you shop at a vendor that does not supply reusable bags, bags are available as Ecobags (www.ecobags.com), Envirosax (www.envirosax.com) or Green Bag (www.greenbag.info).

Have you acquired the knowledge and identified strategies to make greening your diet affordable? To share advice or the results of your choices related to this subject, contact me at syhwright@comcast.net or post comments below. Together, let’s create a series of column topics that assist the ‘greening’ of our Community: move the Greater Richmond Area from eco-weak to eco-chic, creating a legacy of healthy green.

About the author: Sylvia Hoehns Wright, a landscape-garden designer located in Glen Allen, specializes in eco-chic strategies. For details of Wright’s activities, contact 804-672-6007, syhwright@comcast.net or see web site, www.TheWrightScoop.com.