There are many benefits to having home-cooked meals. They’re cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment. There’s also a social aspect, and preparing a meal yourself is an excellent way to spend quality time with your family and friends. And because you’re cooking your meals, you’ll be able to enjoy them with less stress and added effort.
Better for Health
While it’s easy to order takeaway and get a quick meal, eating at home is better for your health. However, it may seem like a hassle, preparing your food can save you calories, saturated fat, sodium, and carbs. This, in turn, lowers your risk for hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
Better for the Environment
Homemade meals are better for the environment than ready-to-eat meals. While they do have their environmental advantages, homemade meals have some disadvantages. These include higher energy and resource use. Most of the environmental impact is caused upstream rather than during the cooking process. Most energy is consumed in the transportation, packaging, and cooking processes.
Emissions from the production and transportation of food are a major cause of global warming. Twenty to 29 percent of global greenhouse gases are produced every year in the production of food. The plastic used to keep food fresh adds to this carbon footprint, as does fertilizer and farm equipment used in food production. A better option is purchasing a meal kit that delivers only the food you need, reducing your environmental impact.
Meal delivery companies should be carbon-neutral. Some of them, such as Hello Fresh, have teamed up with a delivery company that uses load-optimized electric vehicles and offsetting programs to cancel emissions. Meat production is the second-largest cause of greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to water pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. Avoiding meat consumption will help slow global warming.
