As a consumer you rule the world, and the place to start your assault on the corporate spoilers of the environment is at the dining room table. As you sit down to plan you incursion into enemy territory - aka Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons, etc. Any home economist will tell you that it is unwise to venture into the super market without a well thought out shopping list. That, my friends, is sage advice. However, if we're going to save the planet while saving money, we need to do a little more homework than just cutting coupons.
Education is the key.
We have to learn to do without all the prepackaged garbage masquerading as food if we are to protect our health and the biosphere in which we live. Sugar, the staple of most American diets, is responsible for the poisoning of the shrinking Everglades. Because sugar production is heavily subsidized, you will pay twice for the candy bar you will eat later today. Coffee plantations are replacing tropical forests. Even the harvesting of cinnamon takes its toll on the environment.