If only eating green were as simple as going to a farmers market, buying organic and re-using that shopping tote at the grocery store. That's a good start, but there are so many other ways to shop, cook, dine out and even clean that can have a more meaningful impact on our environment. These 50 tips will help cut down on landfill and pesticide use, overfishing and the consumption of fossil fuels. 1. Eat more chocolate. Fair-trade and organic, that is. 2. Boil once, cook twice. Use the residual heat from pasta water to poach shrimp. Toss the cooked shrimp and pasta in olive oil. 3. Fill up your freezer. A freezer full of food uses less energy than an empty one. 4. Don't read "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Read Pollan's much shorter "In Defense of Food."

5. Make a bison burger. One of the best ways to save a species is, ironically, to eat it. 6. Ask your farmer these questions: Is your farm certified organic? If not, do you use organic practices? If your farm is not organic, do you use nonsynthetic pesticides? If you do use pesticides, do you practice minimal spraying? 7. Don't open that oven door. Every time you peek, it loses 25 to 50 degrees. 8. Buy a side of beef. The practice directly supports local farmers with a vested interest in taking care of the environment. 9. Cook more often. You'll avoid much of the packaging and preservatives of processed foods. 10. Roast a whole chicken. Less processing and less packaging mean less waste. Use the leftover bones to make your own stock (and save a can). 11. Become a human food processor. Use less electricity by getting handier with your knife. 12. Eat Alaskan wild salmon. Alaska is the only place that takes care of its salmon stocks in a truly sustainable way. And because it's all wild-caught, it's purer in flavor than farm-raised salmon (which is fed pigment and antibiotics). It's also higher in omega-3 fatty acids. Find out where to buy it online at wildpacificsalmon. com. 13. Savor sardines. America's other favorite fish, canned tuna, needs a break. Troll-caught albacore tuna is the better bet, but if you're looking for an altogether different canned replacement, check out sardines, which aren't at all in danger of being overfished and contain less mercury than tuna. 14. Get the scoop. In the bulk bin section of the market, not only are the nuts, grains and other dry items free of excessive packaging, but they're also minimally processed. 15. Plant an heirloom vegetable garden. Heirloom seeds are nonhybrid traditional vegetables that have not been genetically modified. Web retailer heirloomseeds.com has more than 1,100 varieties. 16. Learn how to read a carrot ... or rather, the label for a carrot, a chicken, or a can of coffee. 17. Buy barramundi. Funny name. Fabulous taste. U.S. barramundi is a sustainably raised fish with rich white flesh.

18. Be your own barista. Save money and lessen what goes in the landfill. Also, buy fair-trade organic coffee. Use a French press coffeemaker. Take your coffee to go with a good portable mug.

19. Treasure your trash. Recycling your takeout containers is a given. Even better, wash and save the sturdier ones to store leftovers or transport your homemade lunch.

20. Make stock ... with whatever veggies you have left in the vegetable bin.

21. Make your own cereal, such as granola. It will dramatically cut down on packaging, especially if you buy the ingredients in bulk.

22. Join a CSA. C stands for Community, S for Supported and A for Agriculture. A community (you and some others) supports (by buying food) agriculture (direct from farmers).

23. Eat American cheese. American-made cheese is some of the best in the world. Choose artisan or farmstead. Artisan means it's made in small batches. Farmstead means the cheese is made with milk that comes from the farmer's own flock or herd.

24. Text Fishphone. Use your cell phone to text seafood conservation group Blue Ocean Institute's FishPhone service to check on fish choices. Text 30644 and enter FISH, followed by the name of the fish you want to buy. You'll receive a text telling you if the variety is good for you and the world.

25. Veg out. Vegetables require less energy and water to grow and produce no greenhouse gases, so they're a far more efficient food source than domesticated livestock.

26. Turn off the light when you leave the kitchen.

27. Clean green.

28. Start composting tonight.

29. Eat grass-fed beef.

30. Become an urban forager.

31. Eat American shrimp, farmed or wild. Farm-raised shrimp from overseas is often pumped full of artificial feed and antibiotics and raised in ponds that pollute the water.

32. Eat free food. You'd be surprised how much food gets thrown away, even at farmers markets. Ask if there are any beet greens or fennel tops leftover to blanch or sauté or bake into a gratin.

33. Get blasted. Sign up for the weekly e-mail blast from Heritage Foods USA (heritagefoodsusa.com)

34. Eat sustainable sushi. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has produced a sustainable-seafood sushi guide. Download it at seafoodwatch.org.

35. Become a locavore. Eat only food that has been grown or produced near your home, which supports your community and cuts down on your carbon footprint. Use the mapping tool at 100milediet.org/get-started/map.

36. Bike to the market.

37. Support your local green restaurant. Find restaurants, bakeries, butcher shops and markets that serve fresh, sustainable organic food at eatwellguide.org.

38. Go bento. You'll never feel guilty about throwing away a brown bag after lunch if you buy a stainless steel lunchbox, such as the kind used throughout Asia.

39. Eat more tofu. Eating soy can help conserve water.

40. Stop whistling. When making tea, bring the water just to a boil. The whistle point means the water is so hot that it will likely scald the tea, and reaching that point uses extra BTUs.

41. Use your dishwasher. But only when full and well-organized. Energy Star-rated dishwashers are the best choice.

42. Bag it with your own bag.

43. Mix your drinks. Consider substituting boxed wine into your regular rotation. It generates half as many carbon-dioxide emissions in transport and has recently risen in quality.

44. Take the leftovers. More fossil fuels went into the production of your chicken piccata than into the production of that doggie bag.

45. Pack your own lunch.

46. Support your local winemaker.

47. Read Fritz Haeg's "Edible Estates." This book calls for America's fallow lawns to be turned into productive vegetable gardens.

48. Keep the greens. Beet greens are the most nutritious part of the plant. Use them as you would spinach or kale.

49. Plan your paper use. Scale down your paper towel use (and buy only recycled brands) and scale up your cloth dish towel use for drying vegetables and cleaning up minor spills. Save paper towels for potential cross-contamination spills.

50. Recycle old food magazines and newspapers.

Excerpted from the February 2009 issue of Bon Appétit. All 50 tips can be found on bonappetit.com.