The seasonal products in November

It is best to put these products in your shopping cart this month. Because seasonal products are not only packed with healthy substances, they are also good for the planet.

Close-up of fruits and vegetables is not always better. The environmental impact of the production process is much greater than the impact of transport. Food from greenhouses can have a significant effect on the environment if the greenhouse is heated. This is often the case in the Netherlands, especially in the spring or autumn. It is then often more sustainable to buy products from, for example, France or Spain (where they are grown in an unheated greenhouse). The energy required for transport is less than the energy used to heat the greenhouse. That is what the Nature and Environment Foundation says.

However, there is also improvement here. Some greenhouse growers have taken energy-saving measures, as a result of which they make less or no use of finite fuels. Instead, for example, they use geothermal energy. This applies to tomatoes and cucumbers, for example. In that case, greenhouse vegetables are not so bad!

• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Spinach
• Mandarin
• Fennel
• Radish
• Pumpkin
• Arugula
• Parsnip
• Pear
• Paprika
• Cucumber

What else can I pay attention to?

• Want to eat green beans out of season (for example)? Local beans in cans or jars are a lot more sustainable than (flown in) beans from Kenya. You can then reuse or recycle the can or jar.
• Avoid tropical fruits and vegetables that have been transported by air. Examples are passion fruit, figs (from South America), blueberries (from South America), green beans (from Egypt and Kenya), snow peas (from Africa or South America) and asparagus from (South America).
• Do your shopping by bike or bus. If you think you are working sustainably by taking the car to the farmer in the area for your vegetables, then you are unfortunately missing the point a bit. You then nullify the environmental benefits of locally grown food.
• Buy what you need. Sounds like a cliché, but wasting food is a real shame. Everything that was needed for cultivation and transport would have been for nothing.
• You can find more tips on the Milieu Centraal website.

Image:GettyImages , Source:Nature and Environment