Don’t Be Tricked By Snake-Oil Salesmen: How to Beware of Greenwashing and Creating Meal Plans That Work

Most of us have never heard the term “greenwashing.” In fact, it seems a little bit strange. What is greenwashing and why is it something to be wary of?

Unfortunately, the world is full of businesses who want to take advantage of vulnerable people. The vegan community has a weakness that a business that is profit driven can easily exploit; they want to do things ethically and are willing to pay extra money for products they believe have their ethics in mind.

This screams “opportunity!” to businesses that want extra money for products that they might otherwise find difficult to sell, or that they simply have a surplus of or want to remarket to people for higher prices. Profit is the name of the game unfortunately, and whether we do it consciously or not, a lot of vegans play right into the game.

We already know that organic products and businesses that sell ethical products have to do so at a mark up because demand is lower and because it can often take more money to thrive as an ethical business. This is something that greenwashing companies understand and can easily take advantage of. They believe the world is all nickels and dimes, and don’t think twice about deceiving consumers for the extra cash.

If you want to avoid being duped by a greenwashing company, you have to make sure that you look into the claims that they make. If the claims are meaningful and you can trace them to a source that is credible, then the company is likely genuine. But if the company is making broad statements or claims that are not meaningful, you should be wary. They may just be using clever marketing to sound better than they actually are. Tweaking a word or the meaning of a word means nothing to these companies. It is all about what you buy into, and if they want to trick consumers to make a buck, they find no fault in that. So watch your back.

An example of a claim a greenwashing company might make is to claim that their product is free of something that all products these days are free of. If they are marketing based on the exclusion of an ingredient that has already been banned in your part of the world, then they are trying to sell you something that isn’t quite up to par with your standards. Keep a keen eye out.

Some brands that you should be wary of, as they have been known for greenwashing techniques, include GE, ExxonMobile, DuPont, ExxonMobil, and several others.

If you do your research there should be nothing to worry about. Just use discretion when you are shopping. If you are finding a brand that you are suspicious of, you can easily do an online search to determine whether or not the company is credible.

Meal Plans That Work

Creating meal plans can be a very challenging task, but many of us are more than capable of it. If you find the idea of planning your meals out for the week to be a daunting task, then you are going to have to do everything in your power to talk yourself out of that mentality. Planning your meals can be a very rewarding thing to do. Not only is it nice to know what to expect, but it Is also great for your budget!

Starting a routine for your meals can take a lot of the stress out of your weekday. Structure and planning is often lacking in our lives. Everything seems to slip by so quickly; the time that we hope will be there is easily sucked away by something unforeseen. But if you just follow a few simple guidelines, then creating meal plans that actually work for you should be a breeze.

First of all, you want to make sure that you are setting aside a time every single week to sit down and actually think about your meal plan. You don’t want to be caught unawares when it comes time to prepare a healthy meal and you suddenly realize you have no idea what to make, what ingredients to get or how long to expect you will have to be cooking for. It can be a huge mess and can often lead to unhealthy temporary fixes such as fast food or simply indulging on snacks or things that aren’t well-rounded.

Getting into a routine can help you reduce these issues. Pick one specific time every week to sit down and work on your meal plan. You could even do it a couple of weeks in advance, just make sure that you are keeping up on it. Take into consideration the kind of foods you actually enjoy. Don’t go out of your way to incorporate foods you have never tried before or you may quickly lose interest. Think about things you want to eat and if you are new to veganism, simply seek alternatives to your favorite foods to start out with. that way it isn’t too much change at once.

If you want to build new habits you cannot overwhelm yourself. You have to do what you are comfortable with and make slow, steady changes. That way you are changing your whole lifestyle to fit a new routine, not always feeling like planning meals is something strange and foreign to you. Make sure you are thinking about the ingredients you have on hand and left over from the week when you are planning your meals if you want to be extra budget friendly. There is no reason to waste food just because you are making plans for the future. In fact, planning should help you to eliminate waste and save a lot of money!

So if you want to make meal plans that work, don’t veer too far from the normal. Make the time, then make the meal!