This is part six of a 10-part series on how changing ones eating habits may be the most accessible and impactful way to improve the world.

With awareness as the first step to solving any problem, it’s fortunate more and more people have become aware of the problems created by the fast food industry.

They understand why its non-local food items (comprised of predominantly meat, monoculture, and synthetic ingredients wrapped up in billions of single-use materials) don’t quite equate to nutritional or environmental health. These conclusions are often forgotten and brushed off, however, due to the power of habitual practices (and aggressive marketing) as well as fast food’s convenience and low price.

With harmful habits, one needs to just hunker down and say “no” as they would when trying to break any routine. When confronted with the alluring aromas of fast food, try thinking, “it sure smells nice, but not nice enough to eat” (as one would with an inedible flower). Also quite effective is staying informed on the horrors of the commercial food industry and keeping the 10 facts that terrify you the most on a note card in your wallet to rekindle any faded knowledge.

As far as convenience and price go, buying less meat (dry beans and grains are less than $1/lb in many stores), and incorporating locally grown and primarily vegetarian meals can lead to huge savings (especially in the realm of prevented doctor bills). If needed, create convenience for yourself by dedicating a time slot every week to preparing next week’s meals – thereby facilitating local grabs on the go (such as pieces of fruit). This ritual can be truly enjoyable when planned with friends who enforce the commitment and add creativity while weakening the concept of time.

In all, fast foods represent a dis-ease of life’s most essential systems – a problem that provoked the table’s 180-degree rotation to where the “slow food” movement resides. It advocates slowing down the pace of life to transform our relationships with food, and to allow the environment and farmers who nourish our bodies to be given the love they deserve. Above all, however, one just needs recognize that each and every meal is a powerful vote for the type of treatment one wishes to see administered to the environment.  Choose wisely, and ask your new president to do the same.