Low-impact and sustainable living is being aware of your ecological footprint in your daily life and taking steps to lessen your impact on the environment. This includes what you buy (or don’t buy), your daily habits, how you travel, where and how you shop, and your general consumption. Food is a part of all of those area of your life. Think about it. When you’re at the grocery store, do you make sure you don’t overbuy? Do you know if you are properly recycling the containers food comes in? Do you always brings reusable bags with you to the store? Are you composting or reusing your food scraps in the kitchen to prevent waste?
It’s hard to answer just one of these questions, let alone completely shift your lifestyle. But an easy place to start is social media. Lucky for us, tons of creators talk about how to incorporate environmentally-friendly habits into your life without feeling like you have to change everything overnight.
At Spoon, we definitely have some favorites. Here is a collection of low-waste creators who are taking a relatable and sometimes imperfect approach to a low-waste lifestyle. They create videos to educate and empower their followers to reduce the food waste on our beautiful planet.
1. Anne-Marie Bonneau (@zerowastechef)
Anne-Marie is a sustainable chef and the face behind the blog and Instagram account @ZeroWasteChef. She has been plastic-free since 2011 and continues to inspire others to creatively make sustainable recipes while still being tasty.
2. Alexis Nikole (@alexisnikole)
Alexis Nikole is an Ohioan foraging teacher and another enthusiast of the environment. Her recipes include pinecone jam, snow ice cream, and other creative ways to find ingredients in your backyard. Her unique storytelling and educational videos that inspire viewers to get up and go!
3. Chef Priyanka (@chefpriyanka)
Chef Priyanka isn’t new to the spotlight as a Food Network champ and self-taught vegan chef. Her TikTok consists of delicious recipes for dump cakes, ways to reuse pasta sauce, watermelon rind pickles, and more.
4. Joe (@joesgarden)
If you’re into gardening or interested in getting a green thumb, Joe’s TikTok is the perfect place to start. He teaches viewers how to grow their own produce and how to use it in zero-waste recipes like candied citrus peels, vegetable soup, and, my favorite, garlic.
5. Maria (@livingplantfriendly)
Maria’s transparency and approach to imperfect sustainability are what make her so relatable to watch. In her videos, she covers topics like her transition to becoming an ingredient household and making things solely at home. She showcases ways to make recipes plastic-free and properly store produce to further reduce waste from spoilage.
6. Sandor Katz (@sandorkraut)
Sandor Katz is the author of Wild Fermentation, often referred to as the food preservation bible, along with other great books. His Instagram posts typically include where to find him for live speaking engagements.
7. Leah Thomas (@greengirlleah)
Leah Thomas is a must-follow because of her page filled with approachable conversations about sustainability. In addition to environmental advocacy, she promotes sustainable brands that aid in using food that visually looks “imperfect” and would normally go unused.
8. Immy Lucas (@sustainably_vegan)
Immy Lucas is a Colorado-based content creator. With a similar low-impact train of thought, her minimalist-style recipes are plant-based and cooked from scratch to reduce food waste.
9. Kate Hall (@thefullfreezer)
Kate helps her followers alleviate pressure to cook foods immediately and store them properly via freezing to reduce food waste. By doing so, she hopes to empower people with the variety of ingredients they have stocked up and help them save money.
10. Diana Rodgers (@sustainabledish)
Diana is a registered dietitian and host of the Sustainable Dish Podcast. She not only practices sustainability but infuses it into her clinical nutrition practice, in addition to working in policy and animal welfare.