Green Living: Christmas food

That said, Christmas can also be an excellent time of year to show respect for the producers and farmers who work year round to bring us sustainable choices.

Here are my top tips to eat sustainably this Christmas:

1. Make it local. That doesn't mean the Tesco Express round the corner. Try to support local farm shops, markets and small independent retailers. They not only form the backbone of our communities but also care about where your food comes from and how it will taste. Their advice is well worth a few extra pence on your receipt.

2. Eat seasonally. There's a reason why sprouts and satsumas are synonymous with Christmas - they're in season, and taste better. Wharf favourite Leon has an excellent seasonality chart available online, which makes eating seasonally a piece of cake.

3. Make sure the sweet treats you buy are Fairtrade if it's an option. This year Cadbury has made the bold move to make its Dairy Milk bars Fairtrade, and ethical brands like Divine are old favourites for those with a sustainable sweet tooth.

Most importantly - enjoy what you eat. Sustainable living isn't about suffering and going without - it's about eating more healthily, buying tastier food and supporting a wider range of suppliers.

Christmas will be a boring time of year in a decade's time if we only have one or two mega-malls to choose from.

- Do you or your company have an environmentally friendly product or service you'd like featured in this column? Let us know by contacting Seventeen, a sustainable alternative for your event management needs, at andrew@seventeenevents.co.uk.