Watermelon seed bites, straws made from sugarcane, and carbon-conscious coffee. Design by Chineme Elobuike for Thrillist What if we told you that eating the right kind of snacks can make the world a better place? Or by simply swapping the plastic wrap that covers your leftovers, you can reduce […]
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Watermelon seed bites, straws made from sugarcane, and carbon-conscious coffee.
What if we told you that eating the right kind of snacks can make the world a better place? Or by simply swapping the plastic wrap that covers your leftovers, you can reduce personal carbon footprint each day.
From supporting their farmers, transparent labeling, educating the buyer to looking after the earth, and planting more trees and growing in bio-diverse ways, these sustainable food and kitchen brands are helping you make a small but steady impact.
Snacking saves us from hangry arguments, yes? But who knew it could save the world, too. With Força Foods, snacks are made using leftover watermelon seeds that are usually considered a discard in the food industry. But Força has managed to make them taste spectacular. The brand pledges to save water by using seeds instead of nuts, so the water footprint of your snack remains low. At this plant-based, organic, and sustainable food brand’s e-store, you’ll find energy bites flavored with either coffee or organic strawberries. The rest of the bar contains healthy ingredients such as dates, oats, and maple syrup.
Soy-free, organic, dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO ingredients such as quinoa, chia seeds, stevia, peas, reishi, cacao and coconut can all be found in Planet Protein’s powders. Featuring mixes such as vanilla or chocolate, the company practices transparent labeling and its packaging is fully recyclable. Planet Protein runs a zero-waste program that makes buyers win points for their eco-efforts, like one tree is planted for every bag purchased. Plus, there’s no nasty plastic scoop and each product is shipped using eco-stuffing.
Plant-based kombucha that is made using organic ingredients is BoochCraft’s speciality. But that’s not even the best part. We love that the brand donates 1% of all its gross sales to fund projects that are working towards creating a sustainable world. The manufacturing unit is 100% wind powered, the waste is composted, and the company supports programs such as Kiss the Ground, a resource platform for farmers that are transitioning to regenerative agriculture practices.
Changing the world one packet of cereal at a time, The Soulfull Project works to feed the food banks of America. For every one product that is purchased, one product is donated towards a food bank in the same area, making it an endeavor that makes a local impact. Soulfull makes crispy granola and hot cereal using clean ingredients such as red quinoa, rye, flax seeds, and steel cut oats.
This brand’s website reveals that more than 40% of food goes to waste in America each year. Taking this as their core cause, Seconds’ mission is to give fresh life to discarded veggies. Pulp and peels of veggies are upcycled to create snacks such as carrot crackers that also have other rescued ingredients such as oat milk flour, coconut aminos, tapioca flour, sesame seeds, and other nutritionally rich ingredients.
If no morning for you is complete without eggs, then this is a great way to make it a sustainable one. At Consider Pastures, hens are not raised in cages, instead on farms with lots of grassy pastures for them to forage and exhibit instinctual behaviors. In America, predominantly egg-laying hens do not get a spot under the sun, however with pasture-raised eggs, there is an opportunity for them to roam on greens, therefore making it an ethically superior choice.
From the emergence of QR-coded menus to tracing each ingredient listed on the platforms right to the source, One Degree Organics merges food and tech in super smart ways. The company also encourages you to connect with the farmer, read all about them, and watch videos of how your product is made or grown. All products listed on their portal are organic, non-GMO, glyphosate-free, and you can pick from cereals, granolas, oats, breads, and flours.
The smallest big step in the kitchen is to get rid of all aluminum or plastic wrap and instead go for Bee’s Wrap—reusable food storage sheets. The project started off as an idea to ditch disposable food storage material and therefore Bee’s Wrap is washable, reusable, compostable wrap made of organic cotton coated with beeswax. The company also pledges support towards pro-planet endeavors such as ocean conservancy, beach cleanups, and socially equitable usage of water.
Collecting a small percent from each pound of coffee sold, Counter Culture puts it back in its Seeds program that offers financial grants to producers with whom they work on various sustainable projects. While the coffee is fairly grown and traded, the brand has sustainability weaved in several layers of its product. Take for example an annual transparency report that tells you everything from reduction of their carbon footprints, improvement in employees lives to new sustainable certification.
An apt replacement for single-use plastics, Equo products are made of edible ingredients such as coffee, coconut, grass, rice, and sugarcane. Therefore, all straws are compostable and don’t get soggy midway through your drink like paper ones. The company also offers knives, forks, and spoons made using sugarcane fiber, extracted after the cane has been juiced.
Sonal Ved is a Thrillist contributor and the author of Tiffin: 500 Authentic Recipes Celebrating India’s Regional Cuisine. She is the content lead at India Food Network and Tastemade India, and the food editor at Vogue India.
