
With the contemporary global concerns about sustainable development, the issues of food waste and environmental protection have become more visible and better tackled. With prevalent problems of insufficient nutrition and food insecurity due to the disruption of conventional food consumption traditions, sustainable eating is threatened (Huambachano, 2019). Indeed, human eating habits and the overall culture of food consumption are subject to analysis to identify patterns that might yield an impact (positive or negative) on the environment from both short- and long-term perspectives. Daily practices of consuming food, cooking, grocery shopping, and managing leftovers and waste comprise the whole behavior of individuals in relation to food. They are commonly associated with the environmental worldview that prevails in a person’s overall outlook. Thus, it is relevant to revise and alter the environmental worldview to revise harmful or unsustainable eating habits by engaging in spiritual practices for better sustainable outcomes. This paper presents a reflective analysis of the author’s eating habit-informed environmental worldview, the health of their connection with nature, and probable spiritual practices to improve sustainable food consumption.
Environmental Worldview Analysis
The analysis of one’s environmental worldview should be based on the observation of practices and behaviors rather than assessed theoretically. In such a manner, the identification of a particular paradigm is more objective and realistic. For that matter, the basis for this analysis is the record of a seven-day eating habit journal that I have completed for the purposes of this project. The information recorder in the food habit spreadsheet allows for categorizing my environmental worldview as stewardship. This conclusion is validated by the limited waste I produce after each meal, which helps protect the environment from pollution and eliminates the threat of overproduction in the long-term perspective within food systems. Indeed, most days, I did not produce any waste, while on other days, no edible food was thrown away apart from some fries. Moreover, the stewardship environmental worldview entails caring for the planet by managing the consumption of resources. In this regard, my combining of occasional home-cooked meals with ordered food contributes to the balanced consumption of food.
In order to conduct a proper analysis of the environmental worldview based on my food consumption patterns, it is relevant to review my attitude from three core perspectives, namely philosophy, religion, and ethics. Within the philosophical continuum, my records of eating habits indicate that I am more inclined to materialistic philosophy. In particular, the review of the food habit worksheet demonstrates that the majority of my meals are taken when I am alone, with occasionally shared dinners with my family. Moreover, I often order food from fast-food restaurants to obtain food quickly and to my liking without putting in much effort. I do not spend too much money on meals, which validates my materialistic motivation toward food consumption.
When tackled from the point of view of religion, my eating habits indicate my alignment with pantheism, which implies the unity of the world and God. As evidenced by my food consumption patterns and the activities associated with them, I do not differentiate between the external world and God. I do not actively apply religious consideration to the validation of my food habits. However, when eating, I perceive this time-spending as a spiritual practice of connecting my body with the world. From the perspective of ethics, I most closely relate to anthropocentrism. I limit my worries about buying groceries and cooking food or selecting food that is guaranteed to be sustainably produced. Instead, I choose easily accessible food items to satisfy my immediate needs. In addition, I engage in parallel activities, such as watching TV, responding to emails, playing on the phone, and others while eating, which indicates my prioritization of my feelings and satisfaction of my needs.
Evaluation of the Relation to Nature
As my food habits imply, my relationship with nature is characterized by distancing and insufficient concern. In the majority of my meal records, I do not know where the food comes from, where the ingredients for the meals were produced, or what the production methods are. I am not concerned with these issues when I make my daily food choices. The information that I obtain about some of the food items on my menu comes primarily from the official websites of the companies from which I order. It might not be objective and does not provide any indication of the impact of my food choice on nature. Moreover, I am more concerned with the diversity of my diet, which is evident from the different choices I make, although within the limited range of cuisines. Thus, the environmental footprint of my eating habits is not a priority for me on a daily basis.
However, the identified stewardship environmental worldview encourages me to pay more attention to the sustainable use of natural resources when consuming food. In particular, the stewardship environmental worldview implies integrating the knowledge about the consequences of particular production methods for the planet and the reduction of harm through habit improvement. This approach allows for shifting the priority from an egocentric attitude toward eating habits to a more nature-centered one. In such a manner, the choice of places to eat and the items on the menu (or ingredients for home-cooked meals) should be aligned with the maximum benefit for humans and minimum harm to the planet.
Spiritual Eating-Related Practices for Healthier Relationship with Nature
Firstly, one of the spiritual practices related to my eating habits might be the initiation of family cooking evenings. There is much information online and on social media on cooking and promoting a healthy and nutritious diet with sustainable food management (Choudhary et al., 2019). Spending time on cooking will allow my family and me to connect, learn, and appreciate the nutritious food cooked ourselves. Moreover, I will have a chance to teach children about sustainable food consumption, thus making my contribution to the longevity of future generations. When selecting recipes and ingredients, I will be aware of the natural resources that are used to produce them and evaluate the threat to the planet. In such a manner, I will unite with nature and raise awareness about ingredients, their origin, nutrients, and health benefits. Moreover, this practice will help me manage food waste by practicing recipes for leftover-based cooking. Overall, by cooking more often, including some outdoor picnics, I will improve my relations with nature.
Secondly, I will transition to a vegetarian diet to eliminate the threats to the environment caused by meat production. Indeed, research suggests that “high meat consumption requires intensive farming and animal husbandry methods, which is particularly unhealthy” (Nemeth et al., 2019, p. 4). Moreover, in terms of spirituality and ethics, the refusal to consume animal-based foods will preserve animal life on the planet and reduce production-related damage to the soil and ecosystems.
Thirdly, another important practice that might improve my relationship with nature is buying groceries from farmers with a proper guarantee of the production of food items using sustainable production methods. The prioritization of organic food will be a significant contribution to sustainable food consumption with potential benefits in the long-term perspective of the planet and nature. I will apply rational thinking and informed decision-making when making food choices to make sure that the products I buy and consume are of zero harm to nature. Such a practice will promote sustainable consumption, support organic farming, and eliminate the harm of non-sustainable production in the long run.

In summation, the presented discussion was aimed at analyzing my environmental worldview, its implications for my relation to nature, and the generation of some spiritual practices to improve it. Overall, based on the worksheet records of my eating habits, it was determined that I most certainly align with the stewardship environmental worldview. This worldview allows for a certain degree of unawareness about sustainability issues with limited harm to nature. The limited waste I produce, partial concern about the place and practices of ingredient production I exhibit, and my use of both home-cooked and ordered food validate the selection of the environmental worldview. Within this perspective, my relations with nature are inconsistent and characterized by limited knowledge and limited contribution to environmental protection and sustainability issues despite the lack of harm to nature on my side. To improve my relationship with nature, I will use such spiritual practices as family cooking evenings, transitioning to a vegetarian diet, and buying from farmers with obtaining information about sustainable production methods.