Approximately one third of food produced is never consumed. Lessening this waste can decrease the resources used in growing, harvesting, storing, and transporting food as well as minimize the need for more farmland. A large percentage of this waste ends up in landfills where it releases methane as it decomposes, this in addition to the fuel, water, seeds, land, money and labor spent on its growth.

Fruits and vegetables grown at home sometimes taste better but also help our mental health through the act of gardening. Food production by individuals offloads the food industry and has a much lower fossil fuel consumption compared to food in the grocery store. This creates a more resilient food chain and connects each of us with nature.

There are not enough calories of meat produced on this planet to supply every person's caloric needs, but there are enough plants to accomplish this goal. Raising animal based meat requires a lot of energy compared to the energy in growing fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts. Decreasing our meat intake and increasing plant based foods is an excellent way to decrease fossil fuel consumption and increase one’s health by lowering risks of diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Conventional agriculture practices extract nutrients from the ground, use petroleum based products (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers) and pipe water to the fields. Unfortunately, over time this leads to desertification of the land. Good news is that what is old is new! Regenerative agriculture puts nutrients in the soil, lessens fossil fuel consumption in farming and takes more advantage of rainwater than irrigation. Some of these techniques in arboforestry, intercropping, no till, silvopasture, and irrigation efficiency.