From pasta to rice, pesto and ketchup: the most ethical and eco-friendly products for your kitchen cupboards

When it comes to fresh food, we know what to do: buy local, eat less meat, look for Good Fish Guide approved fish. But what about the items in our store cupboard - the sauces, spices, condiments, spreads, and ingredients that are canned, jarred, or dried? How do you choose them to inflict the least possible damage on the planet?

The bad news is that it's not that simple. Durability is a complex hydra. "There are social criteria, health criteria, embedded carbon [all CO2 emitted during the production of a product throughout its life cycle] and embedded water [all entrained water] “says Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City, University of London and the person who coined the phrase “food miles”. For example, buying dried pulses and cooking them yourself will reduce the energy spent on packing and transporting the cans, but this results in more emissions than in a factory where the process is streamlined. In theory, dried fruits and spices have a low environmental impact, but this is increased if they are freeze-dried quickly rather than dried slowly in the sun.

The good news is that a well-stocked cupboard can help reduce food waste, which is responsible for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It can also play a role in food security.

"A store cupboard ultimately serves as a buffer to the household," says Lang. “We need to transform how consumers approach household planning and cooking – not assume supermarkets will do it for us.” Since fridges replaced pantries, technology "has made consumers dependent on energy-intensive supply chains", he says, which now face uncertainty. In the long term, this will require changes in public policy: sustainable store cabinet products are far from universally affordable. Still, there are cheaper options - even a little less durable - and if you have the space and can afford it, buy in bulk and in bulk if possible to save money and packaging.

Pulses truly are the holy grail of pantry produce, says Lang. abundantly in the UK and are great for soil health. In fact, Josiah Meldrum from Hodmedod's - supplier of UK pulses - is almost embarrassed by how positive pulses are for the environment. "There really isn't no bad news", h...