August 2 was World Exhaustion Day. This is the day on which mankind consumed as many resources as the earth can hold in one year. Many of these are wasted completely unnecessarily. A significant proportion is generated in the production of food. On average, every German consumes over 670 kilos per year. In addition, at least 82 kilos are thrown away. Alarming figures that are countered by a wonderful trend: More and more people are questioning where their food comes from and under what conditions it was produced.

1 Unpackaged wins: produce less waste

Leave the store without buying a bag of garbage. Fruit and vegetables packaged in plastic or shrink-wrapped produce a lot of environmentally harmful waste. Unnecessary, especially if the loose produce is right next to it. At the bakery, you can have the bread rolls put directly into your bag.

2 Buy seasonal produce - i.e. only from free-range cultivation

Greenhouses are climate killers. For example, a head of lettuce grown in the field produces around 140 g of CO2. In a greenhouse it is 30 times as much. You can also recognize free-range produce by its taste: lettuce has firmer leaves and is more aromatic.

3 Coffee to go from the reusable cup

Almost 3 billion disposable coffee cups end up in the bin every year in Germany alone. Latte macchiato cuts a better figure in a colorful reusable cup, and many retailers, such as Mc Café, now even offer a discount on the coffee.

4 Choosing the right fat for climate protection

Dairy farming is expensive. A good 1/3 less CO2 is produced when frying with vegetable oil compared to frying with butter.

5 Buy mainly from regional retailers

Short transportation routes, seasonal produce - that's good for the climate and socially responsible. You can see directly who you are supporting with your purchase decision. No market near you? You can find regional suppliers of organic crates online who deliver fresh fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs directly to your home - in reusable crates without packaging waste.

6 Enjoy meat consciously and not every day

Around 13 percent of our CO2 emissions are caused by our food. For meat lovers, the figure is almost twice as high at 25 percent. To get 1 calorie from meat, 7 calories are needed from plants. So eating meat or sausage just 2 to 3 times a week makes a big difference.

7 Cheers to tap water

Whether in the production of the bottles, in the bottling plants or on the long transportation routes: Mineral water causes climate-damaging emissions, waste and, in some countries, repeated social conflict when manufacturers exploit their monopoly on local sources. We love tap water, the best controlled and most climate-friendly food.

8 Making your own supplies

We like this trend: preserving, fermenting and the like are more popular than ever and help to make good use of leftovers and avoid waste. The advantage of preserving fruit and vegetables is that they are still available after the harvest season. Food bloggers, such as Ulli from www.einkochhelden.de, and guides on the subject, for example from GU, explain how to do it.

9 Put three climate sinners on your personal red list

Start small and ban three climate offenders from your kitchen. This can be as simple as switching from meat to vegetable stock. You can find a calculator for the carbon footprint of individual foods at www.klimatarier.com. Rule of thumb: plant-based before animal-based, then look at the origin.

10 Don't go for organic across the board, but weigh things up

Organic is better - this mainly applies to meat and dairy products. For fruit and vegetables, free-range is better than organic. And regional over sensitive goods that are transported by plane. A free-range tomato from Spain produces 600 g CO2/kg. An organic tomato from a German greenhouse produces 9,200 g. Seasonal organic cultivation is ahead with 35 g (conventional: 85 g).

11 A little planning pays off twice over

A shopping list helps to reduce impulse purchases. Planned shopping prevents food waste and saves you money.

12 Pay attention to good quality when eating out

We want to be pampered in a restaurant and are less concerned about money - the main thing is that it's delicious, right? There are more and more organic restaurants and snack bars that make burgers from organic beef, for example. It tastes better and you can eat with a clear conscience.

13 Proteins? Preferably those from pulses

In the past, lentils, beans and peas were much more common on the table than they are today. Meat was rare and local pulses were a healthy - and sustainable - source of protein.

14 Apples are better than dried apple rings

The fresher and more unprocessed a food is, the less energy was used to produce it. Industrially dried apple rings, prunes etc. cause 40 times more greenhouse gases than fresh or home-dried fruit. And you even save on packaging and transport kilometers. So why not go for the home-grown apple?

15 Support Fairtrade

Good news: Sales of fairly traded products are increasing, most recently by 18 percent. What are the benefits? Fairtrade means that local workers receive higher wages, are better protected, e.g. in the event of crop failure, and child labor is punished. Start with coffee, it is hardly more expensive and you are not consuming at the expense of others. According to Stiftung Warentest, the Fairtrade, Naturland Fair and Hand in Hand labels are particularly recommended.

16 Opaque convenience products

Where the wheat flour for your cake comes from is written on the packaging. But what about baked rolls and frozen pizza? The ingredients come from cheap countries like China. Food experts advise avoiding products with more than five different ingredients.

17 Consistently use leftovers instead of throwing them away

18 million tons of food end up in the bin in Germany every year. Don't be afraid to have the leftovers from a sumptuous meal packed in a Tupperware container you've brought with you to a restaurant. This is not unseemly, but modern and sustainable.

18 Play it safe with soy and meat

The fact is that rainforests have been cleared and seeds genetically optimized to meet our demand for soya. But the problem here is also the high consumption of animal-based foods. 80 percent of German soy imports are processed into feed for cattle, pigs and poultry. Only 2 percent is used in the production of tofu, soy drinks and the like, and here mainly organic soy without genetic engineering from European cultivation areas is used. What helps: Buy animal products with an organic label, as genetically modified soy feed is prohibited.

19 Problem palm oil: reduce as much as possible

It is almost impossible to avoid palm oil, as it is found in almost every second supermarket product: in cookies, sweets, spreads - in fact, in everything that is industrially produced. Tropical forests are cleared and workers exploited to meet the huge demand. The RSPO seal identifies palm oil that is produced under better conditions. At www.umweltblick.de you will find a list of products that are already free from palm oil. Best: Bake your own cookies again.

20 Ask more often for meat from good husbandry

Pasture-raised meat, organic and the "Animal welfare controlled" and "For more animal welfare" seals stand for meat from more responsible husbandry. While nine out of ten respondents consider the welfare of farm animals to be important and would be prepared to spend more money on it, the reality is quite different: The proportion is just 0.7 percent for poultry, 1.2 for pork and 2.4 for beef.