Try to plan your food purchases and meal preparations so that you minimize the amount of...

From the gasoline in your car, to your car's dashboard, to the lip balm in your pocket (and maybe even the fabric of the pocket itself), petroleum-based products have infiltrated nearly every aspect of life. They include any material or substance derived from petroleum: fuels such as gasoline, of course, but also petrochemical products such as synthetic textiles, plastics, and the ingredients of items as ordinary (and necessary) as medicines, foodstuffs, and household cleaners. The vast majority of petroleum is used for fuel, but fully 10 percent of the petroleum consumed in the U.S. is used to make plastics, fabrics, medicines, and other non-fuel products.

Mold isn't just a patch of blue to indicate your bread's gone bad. There are molds that grow on...