There are a lot of things we really, really don’t like about the new resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but even if we just focus on the environment and our food system, it’s enough to bring us to tears. But crying gets us nowhere – staying informed does. With that in mind, here are five ways you might not have realized that the Trump administration is poised to muck up the environment and our food system.

1. The Wall will emit more CO2 than 700,000 homes.

Aside from just being a poor diplomatic decision and an even worse financial one, Trump’s infamous wall is a disaster as far as the environment is concerned.

A 1,000-mile wall 50 feet tall, 15 feet underground, and one-foot thick would require approximately 9.7 million cubic meters of concrete and 2.3 billion kilograms of steel to build, according to Technology Review.

With about 380 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions for every cubic meter of concrete poured, according to the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment at the University of Bath, this wall is not only going to cost us $40 billion and our relationship with Mexico (and, let’s face it, most of the free world), but also emit upwards of 7 million metric tons of CO2 — the same as more than 700,000 homes, 16 billion barrels of oil, or two entire coal-fueled power plants in a year.

2. The Wall will harm endangered species.

A report last year based on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data showed that the construction of the border wall could have a negative impact on “111 endangered species, 108 species of migratory birds, four wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries, and an unknown number of protected wetlands.”

Dan Millis of the Sierra Club’s Borderlands Project called the wall “an act of self-sabotage,” noting that wildlife migrations have already been blocked with the current walls and fences that exist along the border.

“At the border wall, people have found large mammals confounded and not knowing what to do,” Jesse Lasky, an assistant professor of biology at Penn State University, told the Washington Post, citing deer, mountain lions, jaguar, and ocelots as just some of these animals. A wall cutting off these isolated populations could keep them from mating effectively and sustainably, according to Lasky.

And this isn’t just conjecture: in Slovenia, where 111 miles of barbed-wire fence have been erected along the border with Croatia over the course of the past few years, “a slew of mangled animal carcasses—especially deer—have been found,” according to The Washington Post.

Bringing these issues to the attention of the Trump administration is unlikely to have positive effects, according to Cassandra Carmichael, Executive Director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, who notes that Ryan Zinke, Trump’s nominee for Interior Secretary, has led federal efforts to remove or reduce protections for endangered species including wolves and lynx.

Seeing as congressional Republicans have already been attacking the Endangered Species Act in the past few years, the advent of the Trump administration doesn’t bode well for endangered species.

3. Climate change science is taking a major hit.

Soon after the Trump administration’s decision to put a temporary hold on the release of work by EPA scientists, activists claimed that climate science was in danger of being distorted — and they weren’t crying wolf. The White House website’s climate section has been removed, and a webpage entitled “Climate Change Facts: Answers to Common Questions” was taken off the EPA website.

In addition, Trump’s aides have already told Bloomberg that they plan to cancel Obama’s executive order to federal agencies to take climate change into account during formal environmental reviews.

Top it all off with the fact that Scott Pruitt, Trump’s choice to run the EPA, is not only on the oil and gas industry payroll but also continues to waver over whether “scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connections to the actions of mankind” (just a hint… 97 percent of them don’t), and one thing is clear: climate change will not be one of the top focuses of the Trump administration.

“There is a fear in the entire U.S. science community and, frankly, internationally too,” Christine McEntee, executive director of the American Geophysical Union, told to the Guardian with regards to Trump’s views on climate change. “People fear retribution over their work. There’s a feeling that climate scientists are being targeted.”

4. The National Parks may turn into sources for fossil fuel.

The National Parks may also be taking a hit under the new Trump administration, as one of the new additions to the White House website suggests: the “America First Energy Plan” will push for more drilling of America’s “estimated $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, especially those on federal lands.”

Tensions are increasing between the National Park Service and the Trump administration. The administration forbade the Service from tweeting after the National Park Service retweeted messages negatively comparing the crowd sizes between the 2017 and 2009 inaugurations. (Badlands National Park defied the rule soon after by tweeting about ecological issues such as climate change.)

“That Trump’s first orders include suppression of information about the environment and prohibiting scientists and parks employees to speak suggests he sees America as little more than territory to strip down for parts,” explains the Guardian.

5. Advances made for food security under the Obamas may dissolve.

One major legacy of the Obama era – specifically the Michelle Obama era – is the advancement of food security policies. But her legacy might not survive the next four years: the Trump administration is expected to confront what the President calls “burdensome new rules” on food, stripping back regulations put into place during the Obama era.

Experts expect regulations concerning school lunches, the SNAP food stamps program, and even standards controlled by the FDA to be reduced under the Trump administration. Trump himself previously called for “a massive reduction in the country’s regulatory standards for foods,” according to Food and Wine, and even suggested he would eliminate “the FDA food police,” which he criticized for “inspection overkill.”

“The intrusive and expensive federal mandates on food options and menu labeling should be ended as soon as possible by a Republican Congress,” the GOP stated in its 2016 platform, directly opposing the mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods rule signed into law by Obama.

“We have a sense of (Trump’s) personal eating habits, but not his view of food policy,” said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington. “But given his anti-regulatory, anti-science rhetoric, we’re on high alert.”

Frankly, we all should be.

Related on EcoSalon
Donald Trump Hates Women (Part 2): #NowWhat
For a More Sustainable Food System, We Have to Start Thinking Communally: Foodie Underground
First We March: Here’s What Comes Next: #NowWhat

The post 5 Ways the Trump Administration Will (Probably) Wreck the Environment and Food System appeared first on EcoSalon.

 ColumnA virus threatens a spike in bacon prices. Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the food system that got us here in the first place?

Let’s talk pigs.

There’s currently a virus taking a toll on hog farms in the U.S. and Canada. Since last spring when it was first detected in Iowa, porcine epidemic diarrhea, or PEDv, has killed about 1 million baby pigs. While that’s a small percentage of the approximate 66 million pigs in the U.S., there has been much talk of rising pork prices. Because you know what pigs mean: Bacon. And if there’s anything we should get really concerned and riled up about, it’s a rise in bacon prices.

Meanwhile in Germany, farmers protested a proposed trade agreement between Europe and the U.S. that would lift restrictions on American meat sold in European countries. A gathering of pigs outside of Angela Merkel’s office building to underline the commitment to sustainable as opposed to industrial farming.

The lesson? We are talking about these kind of things in the wrong way.

We support an industrial food system that, in this case, keeps animals in tight quarters, limiting hygiene and health, and when a widespread virus hits, we question whether or not the price of food will increase. It’s not the increase in the price of bacon that we should fear, it’s our industrial food system that gets us into this position in the first place that we should be questioning.

The pig industry is a dirty business. Nowadays, most of the swine we consume are raised on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. In fact, to call these places “pig farms” is a terrible use of the term. These are pig factories. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of hogs raised in factory farms grew by one third. That comes out to about 4,600 additional hogs per day.

Besides affecting the health of the animal, these factory farms have a severe impact on the environment. Manure spills from these factory farms, that often seep into waterways, often release more sewage than the equivalent human sewage of a metropolitan area.

But we turn and look the other way, happy with our “bacon on everything” menus. Even John Stewart is reminding us to think about where our beloved bacon with a capital B comes from. If you think pigs are raised in comfy stalls with lots of hay, think again. Breeding sows often only have enough room to lie down and stand up. Pigs can live up to 15 years, but often they’re slaughtered at six months.

How did we get here?

By eating, and eating without thinking.

Everything we put in our mouths has an impact. The more cheap meat you consume, the more factory farms will grow. In the end, a rise in the price of bacon could be a good thing; we should all be eating less meat and thinking more about where it comes from.

Concerned about your price in bacon? You should be more worried about how that bacon was made.

Related on EcoSalon

It’s Time We Put Up a Food Fight

Hey McDonald’s, Sustainable Meat Doesn’t Make You Responsible

10 Infographics on Farming and Agriculture

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: LaurelF

The post Fear of More Expensive Bacon or Fear of the Food System? Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnTo change our food system, eat better and fight obesity we have to think out of the box. Get inspired by these individual and community approaches. 

In a world of agribusiness and fast food it’s very clear that changes from the food system aren’t coming from the top down any time soon. No really, you think Monsanto and McDonald’s are going to team up to encourage children to eat an organic apple instead of a GMO-filled white bread hamburger bun? Doubtful, and if they do, it’s only because eating an apple makes a child want double the amount of hamburgers.

In this food system where big business runs the show, if we want change, we have to make it ourselves. Which is why when it comes to food, community solutions are essential. And the solutions have to be creative.

Take the Food Bank for New York City for example. They’re cashing in on the food truck trend and driving an anti-ice cream truck around the city, also known as their Change One Thing campaign. You won’t find any high fructose corn syrup in this summer vehicle, instead it’s all about promoting healthy eating and encouraging teens to switch out bad eating habits for good ones, even if it’s as simple as one a day. Certainly a start in for those who want to fight obesity.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg is partnering with architects and designers to rethink urban planning and design spaces that promote movement. Yes, that means walking. Part of the Active Design initiative also involves “Improving access to nutritious foods in communities that need them most.” When we take a look at the positive changes experienced in food deserts when people are given access to healthy, affordable food options, this can only mean good things.

Small scale is also essential; embracing the idea that one step at a time really does make a difference. In Tallahassee, Florida Claire Mitchell and Danielle Krasniqi, the two women behind, Ten-Speed Greens are growing produce on a farm they built on a vacant lot and distributing it via bike. That might sound like a utopic, hipster fantasy, but remember that this is good ol’ Tallahassee, not Portlandia. Change can take place anywhere.

And then there are the multitude of innovative independent projects and operations that never cease to inspire. An aquaponic shipping container farmer? You could put a farm anywhere. A tarp that simplifies gardening and even encourages schools to launch their own gardens? It’s good to start children early. A program that lets people trade compost for fresh vegetables? Genius.

The solutions are there. We just have to keep supporting them. One food truck, one organic piece of produce and one urban garden at a time.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: paul bica

The post Improving the Food System and Fighting Obesity, Creatively: Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

Can digital platforms open up the booming farmers market category for easier access to local foods and goods?

Using online services to live a more local lifestyle is a concept that seems like a paradox – it’s the worldwide web after all – but in the food realm, the digital world is helping to bring more local producers and consumers together.

Much like some grocery stores have implemented online shopping capabilities for their customers, farmers markets are the next frontier. In fact, when it comes to supporting a more local economy, the digital space can be an excellent platform for facilitating exchanges between producers and customers.

Many farmers markets are implementing online platforms which allow their customers to shop from home; this is an ideal set up for smaller scale co-ops that allow members to peruse the selection online, make an order and then collect it at the designated pick up. Even in my small hometown in Western Washington my parents shop local goods online thanks to the platform that their co-op Fresh Food Revolution uses, Local Food Marketplace, which hosts online farmers markets, CSAs, wholesalers, and buying clubs across the US. Local farmers use it to update what they have available, co-op members make their orders, and pick up day is Wednesday afternoon, and you better be sure to put it on your calendar.

It goes without saying that we live busy lives, and the ability to have a bit more flexibility when it comes to grocery shopping is a good thing. Farmigo is tapping into that exact idea. One of the key missions of the online platform is to “bring better quality food to everyone across the nation by giving them access to local, sustainable food directly from farmer.” Working with over 300 farms in 25 states, Farmigo accomplishes this by providing an online marketplace where farmers can better manage their CSA programs, and in turn have allowed farmers to directly interact with large companies like Google and Twitter.

Farmigo also recently launched its community-based initiative, tapping into the power of individuals who want to bring more local food to their own communities. The website allows for coordinating an online farmers market specifically for the community in question, and then a community center becomes the delivery site for local farms to deliver food that has traveled fewer than 100 miles. Shoppers order online and pick up their food within 48 hours of its harvest. Currently Farmigo has community initiatives going in California and New York.

Based in the Bay Area in California, GoodEggs is born out of a similar concept: create a hub to bring people and food closer together. Customers shop on the online marketplace, which features not only local produce, but harder to find products like locally baked gluten free muffins, granola and homemade soups. Think of it as the best of an underground market except with the ease of clicking and then picking up your entire purchase at one pick up location. What may have once been a hole-in-the-wall operation that people would only know about via word of mouth, these are the kind of digital tools that help farmers and food makers sell directly, in turn reaching a wider market.

But these digital applications aren’t just serving the individual consumer. If you want to change the food industry you have to attack it from all levels. FoodHub is doing just that by connecting professional food buyers, wholesale producers, distributors and industry suppliers in one community. Which means when the restaurateur wants a locally grown bunch of kale for the month’s salad special, he or she has a website that will tell them exactly where to get it.

Selling in an online space is also good for the farmers, not only because it expands their market, but because it lets them know how much they are going to sell, eliminating waste. Pitch a tent at farmers market over the weekend and you have to do some serious calculating for how many heads of cabbage and rutabagas to bring. An online system streamlines that process, which means farmers know exactly how much they are selling and where it’s going.

All these tools do however beg the question: while online platforms give us better access, are they discouraging us from engaging. The “Bowling Alone” social phenomenon is much discussed in political science circles, the idea that with the rise of internet and technology we spend more time alone than in community settings and in turn political involvement. The point of a farmers market after all isn’t just to get access to local food, it’s to engage in a discussion, and in a world where we already separate ourselves from society because of online channels, it’s important to keep in mind that even if we can make our purchases online, it shouldn’t stop us from interacting with the people that are producing what we’re buying. Conversation is just as much part of buying local as the actual products are – that’s something you simply don’t get when you shop at big box stores.

Ultimately, we can hope that platforms like these will not only provide greater access to good and local food, but also inspire us to engage more, talking about what we eat with those around us and seeking out new producers within our communities, all of which is part of the process of creating a more sustainable food system.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Going Local Online: The Rise of the Online Farmers Market appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you ask food experts like Michael Pollan, Marian Nestle, Gary Nabhan, Vandana Shiva, and numerous other writers and scholars what the biggest problems in our global, industrialized food system are, you’ll end up with a lot to chew on.

It’s difficult to separate the problems into discrete categories because everything is connected. Big problems lead to seemingly smaller problems, that, when allowed to fester, become open wounds – much like the foul waste lagoons on industrial pig farms that dot our landscape, or the actual wounds on human flesh caused by antibiotic resistant staph infections, which are a direct result of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock operations.

Most of the problems in the system stem from one giant problem: Concentration of power, land, wealth, and political influence in the hands of a few large players who have gamed the system for their benefit. Here are the biggest issues, as we see them, followed by suggestions for what you can do about them.

1. Food Safety

Big players in the meat, dairy, eggs, and bagged greens industries are unsafe at any speed. Nobody paying attention to the news over the past few years could have missed the biggest food recall stories, nor the very real harm and deaths that have resulted from many of them. E-coli in beef has sickened many, killed some, and ruined lives. Recently, salmonella tainted pasteurized milk was pulled from shelves. Nobody could have missed the recent recall of about a half a billion eggs, and there have been numerous recalls of bagged greens – the most recent in June. These stories are becoming nearly every day occurrences, leaving us to wonder if our food system is DESIGNED to kill us. The problem is a direct result of lax food safety enforcement laws and lack of inspectors. This is at least partially because industry lobbies make sure that inconvenient regulations are not passed. Concentration in the industry also leads to over-crowded, sadistic farm operations requiring the use of massive doses of non-therapeutic antibiotics and grown hormones, and resulting in air and water pollution that contribute to a host of environmental and public health nightmares, and misery for the animals trapped in the system.

What can you do about it?

Know your farmers, ask about their practices and support what they are doing. You’ll eat better, you’ll worry less and you’ll support a better food system. When bagged spinach was first recalled a few years ago, I knew that the spinach in my CSA box was fine. Likewise, during the recent egg recall, I worried not a whit about the pastured eggs I buy at the farmers’ market.

2. Declining Wild Fish Stocks

As Taras Grescoe pointed out in Bottomfeeder and Paul Greenberg most recently outlined in Four Fish, we eat too many of a very few species of wild fish – mostly the ones that are higher on the food chain. Continuing in this vein will cause the eventual decimation of our oceans.

What can you do about it?

Branch out and try something new. Eat bait, or smaller fish, like anchovies, sardines, and small Spanish mackerel. These fish are more sustainable, more plentiful, more resilient, and healthier for you than the larger predators.

3. Poor Aquaculture Practices

Aquaculture may be an important food source in the future (see above) but much of it is practiced in ways that are unhealthy for eaters, native species and the environment. If GMO salmon is approved, (still pending at press time) it will only add to the list of everything that is wrong with farming carnivorous fish in the open ocean. Don’t replace that salmon on your plate with shrimp. Ever wonder why the shrimp is so cheapat restaurants like Red Lobster?

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself on sustainable aquaculture. In general, only eat farmed fish that are natural vegetarians and only buy from suppliers that are transparent about the origins of their fish.

4. Genetically Modified Crops

Besides being untested for their effects on human health, genetically modified seeds don’t necessarily produce greater yields, and can lead to over-application of pesticides that in turn can cause super weeds which have the potential to threaten overall biodiversity, and to contaminate non-gmo crops with their genetic material. The most recent case involving GMOS ended badly when the USDA issued permits allowing GMO sugar beets to be planted in defiance of a federal judge. The judge had issued a decision to stop the planting of GMO sugar beets on the grounds that they may cross-pollinate table beets and Swiss chard. Despite the fact that most other countries have laws outlawing or requiring the labeling of GMO foods, our government continues to bow down to industry.

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself about which crops are commonly genetically modified and only buy organic versions. Better yet, support the companies involved in the non-GMO project. These are the companies willing to go out on a limb and actually test their organic ingredients to make sure they are not contaminated. Also, raise your voice and let the USDA and our legislators know that you don’t want GMOS!

5. Exploitation of Workers

From actual documented slavery in Florida’s tomato fields, to daily pesticide exposure in farming communities, to the fact that America’s lowest paying jobs are in fast food restaurants – our food system crushes workers, ruins their health, and keeps them in poverty so that they need the cheap, processed, industrialized food to survive.

What can you do about it?

This is a tough one, because buying from local, organic farms isn’t necessarily the answer. Even the nicest local, organic farms don’t pay their workers much and require long hours of backbreaking work. The farmers often work just as hard and can’t even afford health insurance for themselves or their families, so even if they want to do better by their workers, they can’t. This is where raising your voice for a more fair government policy that benefits small farmers equally can help. The new USDA is doing a better job clamping down on the big guys and supporting small-scale farmers than ever before, but we’ve got a ways to go.

6. Lack of Equal Access

You’ve no doubt heard the term food desert. Our food system is unjust because it does not provide healthy, affordable food to everyone. People in urban areas often have no access to any fresh food at all because there are no grocery stores. Likewise, rural residents in the heart of agricultural areas sometimes cannot afford to buy the very food they may help to harvest. According to a survey of farm workers in Fresno, county – conducted by The California Institute of Rural Studies – in 2007, 45 percent faced food insecurity. Also, children who are hungry at home are more likely to depend on school lunch programs for most of their nourishment. Even the kids know what a disaster that is. A society that allows such a large percentage of its citizens to go hungry or rely on unhealthy foods that make them sick is shameful.

What can you do about it?

It’s not enough to vote with your fork. Volunteer with and give money to organizations that work on food access issues. There are many. A good place to start is The Community Food Security Coalition.

7. Not Enough People Engaged in Agriculture

Somebody’s got to grow all that food, but farmers are getting older and farming has long been in decline as a career choice. That’s because the system favors machine over man and profits over everything. This means lack of opportunities for farmers to earn a living wage that allows them to buy food and health insurance (see point five from last week). And it’s also unsustainable. (See point number 9 below). If we want to continue to eat, we’re going to have to get more people engaged in farming and we’re going to need to integrate agriculture into society.

What can you do about it?

One way is to grow your own, support neighborhood and school gardens, and urban agriculture. But the real change has to happen at the policy level, so speak up. Now is the time to start working with groups engaged in guiding policy for the next farm bill, such as The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

8. Monocrops

Monocropping is bad for the environment because it’s chemical dependent, harmful to wildlife and ecosystems, and kills the soil. It also increases the chances of famine due to lack of crop diversity. It makes communities dependent on imports of other needed crops, instead of fostering self-reliance. Processed packaged foods depend on monocrops, like palm oil, that cause deforestation and push indigenous people off their land, and soy, which is often genetically modified. (See point 4 from last week). In particular, soy monocropping is causing tensions in Argentina, as it displaces other types of farms.

What can you do about it?

Don’t buy packaged, processed food. Buy fresh, local foods grown by farmers with diverse operations. Cook real food from scratch in your own kitchen.

9. Finite Resources

Our modern, industrialized food system is dependent on fossil fuel based inputs and an unlimited supply of water and soil. All of these things are finite. Add to that that the food system is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, and it’s clear that we cannot continue the way we are going. We have to find a better way.

What can you do about it?

This problem is bigger than all of us but you can keep voting with your fork for the food system you want. And if you get into an argument with your uncle about how we can possibly feed the world with organic agriculture, say what Michael Pollan has said, “how do we know? We’ve never tried.” (paraphrased)

10. Biofuel Production

Of course it would be easier to simply continue doing things the way we have been and just find another way to fuel our wasteful ways, but that’s not going to work. Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels made from virgin agricultural crops (as opposed to recycled vegetable oil) could devastate our food system and environment. Biofuels, which are made from corn, palm oil, sugar cane and other agricultural products, are monocrops (see point eight) so they have the same potential to cause deforestation and other environmental problems. They also displace people and cause the price of basic commodities to rise, which is devastating to poor people who spend a large proportion of their income on food.

What can you do about it?

This is another bigger-than-all-of-us problem, but you can do your small part by reducing energy use, driving less, and speaking up for sane urban and suburban planning and smart energy policies.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Images: chronos-tachyon, Danielle Scott, Muffet, Jonathan Assink, avlxyz, unanoslucror, lucianvenutian, ebruli, Jeffrey Beall, Daisy Double Oh, MSVG, Calc-Tufa, 91RS

The post The 10 Biggest Issues With the Global Food System appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s difficult to separate the problems into discrete categories because everything is connected. Big problems lead to seemingly smaller problems, that, when allowed to fester, become open wounds – much like the foul waste lagoons on industrial pig farms that dot our landscape, or the actual wounds on human flesh caused by antibiotic resistant staph infections, which are a direct result of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock operations.

Most of the problems in the system stem from one giant problem: Concentration of power, land, wealth, and political influence in the hands of a few large players who have gamed the system for their benefit. Here are the biggest issues, as we see them, followed by suggestions for what you can do about them.

1. Food Safety

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Big players in the meat, dairy, eggs, and bagged greens industries are unsafe at any speed. Nobody paying attention to the news over the past few years could have missed the biggest food recall stories, nor the very real harm and deaths that have resulted from many of them. E-coli in beef has sickened many, killed some, and ruined lives. Recently, salmonella tainted pasteurized milk was pulled from shelves. Nobody could have missed the recent recall of about a half a billion eggs, and there have been numerous recalls of bagged greens – the most recent in June. These stories are becoming nearly every day occurrences, leaving us to wonder if our food system is DESIGNED to kill us. The problem is a direct result of lax food safety enforcement laws and lack of inspectors. This is at least partially because industry lobbies make sure that inconvenient regulations are not passed. Concentration in the industry also leads to over-crowded, sadistic farm operations requiring the use of massive doses of non-therapeutic antibiotics and grown hormones, and resulting in air and water pollution that contribute to a host of environmental and public health nightmares, and misery for the animals trapped in the system.

What can you do about it?

Know your farmers, ask about their practices and support what they are doing. You’ll eat better, you’ll worry less and you’ll support a better food system. When bagged spinach was first recalled a few years ago, I knew that the spinach in my CSA box was fine. Likewise, during the recent egg recall, I worried not a whit about the pastured eggs I buy at the farmers’ market.

2. Declining Wild Fish Stocks

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As Taras Grescoe pointed out in Bottomfeeder and Paul Greenberg most recently outlined in Four Fish, we eat too many of a very few species of wild fish – mostly the ones that are higher on the food chain. Continuing in this vein will cause the eventual decimation of our oceans.

What can you do about it?

Branch out and try something new. Eat bait, or smaller fish, like anchovies, sardines, and small Spanish mackerel. These fish are more sustainable, more plentiful, more resilient, and healthier for you than the larger predators.

3. Poor Aquaculture Practices

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Aquaculture may be an important food source in the future (see above) but much of it is practiced in ways that are unhealthy for eaters, native species and the environment. If GMO salmon is approved, (still pending at press time) it will only add to the list of everything that is wrong with farming carnivorous fish in the open ocean. Don’t replace that salmon on your plate with shrimp. Ever wonder why the shrimp is so cheapat restaurants like Red Lobster?

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself on sustainable aquaculture. In general, only eat farmed fish that are natural vegetarians and only buy from suppliers that are transparent about the origins of their fish.

4. Genetically Modified Crops

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Besides being untested for their effects on human health, genetically modified seeds don’t necessarily produce greater yields, and can lead to over-application of pesticides that in turn can cause super weeds which have the potential to threaten overall biodiversity, and to contaminate non-gmo crops with their genetic material. The most recent case involving GMOS ended badly when the USDA issued permits allowing GMO sugar beets to be planted in defiance of a federal judge. The judge had issued a decision to stop the planting of GMO sugar beets on the grounds that they may cross-pollinate table beets and Swiss chard. Despite the fact that most other countries have laws outlawing or requiring the labeling of GMO foods, our government continues to bow down to industry.

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself about which crops are commonly genetically modified and only buy organic versions. Better yet, support the companies involved in the non-GMO project. These are the companies willing to go out on a limb and actually test their organic ingredients to make sure they are not contaminated. Also, raise your voice and let the USDA and our legislators know that you don’t want GMOS!

5. Exploitation of Workers

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From actual documented slavery in Florida’s tomato fields, to daily pesticide exposure in farming communities, to the fact that America’s lowest paying jobs are in fast food restaurants – our food system crushes workers, ruins their health, and keeps them in poverty so that they need the cheap, processed, industrialized food to survive.

What can you do about it?

This is a tough one, because buying from local, organic farms isn’t necessarily the answer. Even the nicest local, organic farms don’t pay their workers much and require long hours of backbreaking work. The farmers often work just as hard and can’t even afford health insurance for themselves or their families, so even if they want to do better by their workers, they can’t. This is where raising your voice for a more fair government policy that benefits small farmers equally can help. The new USDA is doing a better job clamping down on the big guys and supporting small-scale farmers than ever before, but we’ve got a ways to go.
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6. Lack of Equal Access

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You’ve no doubt heard the term food desert. Our food system is unjust because it does not provide healthy, affordable food to everyone. People in urban areas often have no access to any fresh food at all because there are no grocery stores. Likewise, rural residents in the heart of agricultural areas sometimes cannot afford to buy the very food they may help to harvest. According to a survey of farm workers in Fresno, county – conducted by The California Institute of Rural Studies – in 2007, 45 percent faced food insecurity. Also, children who are hungry at home are more likely to depend on school lunch programs for most of their nourishment. Even the kids know what a disaster that is. A society that allows such a large percentage of its citizens to go hungry or rely on unhealthy foods that make them sick is shameful.

What can you do about it?

It’s not enough to vote with your fork. Volunteer with and give money to organizations that work on food access issues. There are many. A good place to start is The Community Food Security Coalition.

7. Not Enough People Engaged in Agriculture

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Somebody’s got to grow all that food, but farmers are getting older and farming has long been in decline as a career choice. That’s because the system favors machine over man and profits over everything. This means lack of opportunities for farmers to earn a living wage that allows them to buy food and health insurance (see point five from last week). And it’s also unsustainable. (See point number 9 below). If we want to continue to eat, we’re going to have to get more people engaged in farming and we’re going to need to integrate agriculture into society.

What can you do about it?

One way is to grow your own, support neighborhood and school gardens, and urban agriculture. But the real change has to happen at the policy level, so speak up. Now is the time to start working with groups engaged in guiding policy for the next farm bill, such as The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

8. Monocrops

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Monocropping is bad for the environment because it’s chemical dependent, harmful to wildlife and ecosystems, and kills the soil. It also increases the chances of famine due to lack of crop diversity. It makes communities dependent on imports of other needed crops, instead of fostering self-reliance. Processed packaged foods depend on monocrops, like palm oil, that cause deforestation and push indigenous people off their land, and soy, which is often genetically modified. (See point 4 from last week). In particular, soy monocropping is causing tensions in Argentina, as it displaces other types of farms.

What can you do about it?

Don’t buy packaged, processed food. Buy fresh, local foods grown by farmers with diverse operations. Cook real food from scratch in your own kitchen.

9. Finite Resources

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Our modern, industrialized food system is dependent on fossil fuel based inputs and an unlimited supply of water and soil. All of these things are finite. Add to that that the food system is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, and it’s clear that we cannot continue the way we are going. We have to find a better way.

What can you do about it?

This problem is bigger than all of us but you can keep voting with your fork for the food system you want. And if you get into an argument with your uncle about how we can possibly feed the world with organic agriculture, say what Michael Pollan has said, “how do we know? We’ve never tried.” (paraphrased)

10. Biofuel Production

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Of course it would be easier to simply continue doing things the way we have been and just find another way to fuel our wasteful ways, but that’s not going to work. Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels made from virgin agricultural crops (as opposed to recycled vegetable oil) could devastate our food system and environment. Biofuels, which are made from corn, palm oil, sugar cane and other agricultural products, are monocrops (see point eight) so they have the same potential to cause deforestation and other environmental problems. They also displace people and cause the price of basic commodities to rise, which is devastating to poor people who spend a large proportion of their income on food.

What can you do about it?

This is another bigger-than-all-of-us problem, but you can do your small part by reducing energy use, driving less, and speaking up for sane urban and suburban planning and smart energy policies.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Images: chronos-tachyon, Danielle Scott, Muffet, Jonathan Assink, avlxyz, unanoslucror, lucianvenutian, ebruli, Jeffrey Beall, Daisy Double Oh, MSVG, Calc-Tufa, 91RS

The post The 10 Biggest Issues With the Global Food System appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you ask food experts like Michael Pollan, Marian Nestle, Gary Nabhan, Vandana Shiva, and numerous other writers and scholars what the biggest problems in our global, industrialized food system are, you’ll end up with a lot to chew on.

It’s difficult to separate the problems into discrete categories because everything is connected. Big problems lead to seemingly smaller problems, that, when allowed to fester, become open wounds – much like the foul waste lagoons on industrial pig farms that dot our landscape, or the actual wounds on human flesh caused by antibiotic resistant staph infections, which are a direct result of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock operations.

Most of the problems in the system stem from one giant problem: Concentration of power, land, wealth, and political influence in the hands of a few large players who have gamed the system for their benefit. Here are the biggest issues, as we see them, followed by suggestions for what you can do about them.

1. Food Safety

Big players in the meat, dairy, eggs, and bagged greens industries are unsafe at any speed. Nobody paying attention to the news over the past few years could have missed the biggest food recall stories, nor the very real harm and deaths that have resulted from many of them. E-coli in beef has sickened many, killed some, and ruined lives. Recently, salmonella tainted pasteurized milk was pulled from shelves. Nobody could have missed the recent recall of about a half a billion eggs, and there have been numerous recalls of bagged greens – the most recent in June. These stories are becoming nearly every day occurrences, leaving us to wonder if our food system is DESIGNED to kill us. The problem is a direct result of lax food safety enforcement laws and lack of inspectors. This is at least partially because industry lobbies make sure that inconvenient regulations are not passed. Concentration in the industry also leads to over-crowded, sadistic farm operations requiring the use of massive doses of non-therapeutic antibiotics and grown hormones, and resulting in air and water pollution that contribute to a host of environmental and public health nightmares, and misery for the animals trapped in the system.

What can you do about it?

Know your farmers, ask about their practices and support what they are doing. You’ll eat better, you’ll worry less and you’ll support a better food system. When bagged spinach was first recalled a few years ago, I knew that the spinach in my CSA box was fine. Likewise, during the recent egg recall, I worried not a whit about the pastured eggs I buy at the farmers’ market.

2. Declining Wild Fish Stocks

As Taras Grescoe pointed out in Bottomfeeder and Paul Greenberg most recently outlined in Four Fish, we eat too many of a very few species of wild fish – mostly the ones that are higher on the food chain. Continuing in this vein will cause the eventual decimation of our oceans.

What can you do about it?

Branch out and try something new. Eat bait, or smaller fish, like anchovies, sardines, and small Spanish mackerel. These fish are more sustainable, more plentiful, more resilient, and healthier for you than the larger predators.

3. Poor Aquaculture Practices

Aquaculture may be an important food source in the future (see above) but much of it is practiced in ways that are unhealthy for eaters, native species and the environment. If GMO salmon is approved, (still pending at press time) it will only add to the list of everything that is wrong with farming carnivorous fish in the open ocean. Don’t replace that salmon on your plate with shrimp. Ever wonder why the shrimp is so cheapat restaurants like Red Lobster?

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself on sustainable aquaculture. In general, only eat farmed fish that are natural vegetarians and only buy from suppliers that are transparent about the origins of their fish.

4. Genetically Modified Crops

Besides being untested for their effects on human health, genetically modified seeds don’t necessarily produce greater yields, and can lead to over-application of pesticides that in turn can cause super weeds which have the potential to threaten overall biodiversity, and to contaminate non-gmo crops with their genetic material. The most recent case involving GMOS ended badly when the USDA issued permits allowing GMO sugar beets to be planted in defiance of a federal judge. The judge had issued a decision to stop the planting of GMO sugar beets on the grounds that they may cross-pollinate table beets and Swiss chard. Despite the fact that most other countries have laws outlawing or requiring the labeling of GMO foods, our government continues to bow down to industry.

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself about which crops are commonly genetically modified and only buy organic versions. Better yet, support the companies involved in the non-GMO project. These are the companies willing to go out on a limb and actually test their organic ingredients to make sure they are not contaminated. Also, raise your voice and let the USDA and our legislators know that you don’t want GMOS!

5. Exploitation of Workers

From actual documented slavery in Florida’s tomato fields, to daily pesticide exposure in farming communities, to the fact that America’s lowest paying jobs are in fast food restaurants – our food system crushes workers, ruins their health, and keeps them in poverty so that they need the cheap, processed, industrialized food to survive.

What can you do about it?

This is a tough one, because buying from local, organic farms isn’t necessarily the answer. Even the nicest local, organic farms don’t pay their workers much and require long hours of backbreaking work. The farmers often work just as hard and can’t even afford health insurance for themselves or their families, so even if they want to do better by their workers, they can’t. This is where raising your voice for a more fair government policy that benefits small farmers equally can help. The new USDA is doing a better job clamping down on the big guys and supporting small-scale farmers than ever before, but we’ve got a ways to go.

Be sure to come back next week for parts 5 – 10!

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Images: Danielle Scott, Muffet, Jonathan Assink, avlxyz, unanoslucror, lucianvenutian

The post The 10 Biggest Issues With the Global Food System: Part 1 of 2 appeared first on EcoSalon.

This ambitious book sets out to do a lot:

1.    Introduce people who are new to the idea that there is a connection between food and climate change.
2.    Lay out all the science in a very detailed manner.
3.    Tell readers how they can personally lower their impact through diet.
4.    Provide recipes and lifestyle tips telling readers how to do it.

Considering how much the book tries to do, I think Cool Cuisine – Taking a Bite Out of Global Warming by Laura Stec with Eugene Cordero, Ph.D. does a good job. However, I wasn’t sure if I was reading a cookbook, a science book, a lifestyle book, or book on how our food system works. This lack of focus made me think that the book would have been better as a series of books focusing on different topics.

Then again, maybe the authors are aiming for the type of reader who gets most of his or her information from the Internet. Going back and forth from topic to topic made my brain feel like it was on the computer or in a pinball machine: a chart here, a graphic there, a sidebar with more detail, a photo, a list of things to do, movies to watch and a recipe-all within a few pages.

The book lays out the facts about global warming, and the ways human activities contribute, including the main diet related factors: meat production, food waste, nitrogen fertilizers.

It’s a fairly complete primer on how our food system works, addressing such topics as agribusiness, subsidies, monocropping and more. It’s a lot to absorb.

That said, the findings are well documented and from what I know, the science seems solid.

The most useful parts of the book for me were the sections that help people lower their impact. Particularly good was the section that gives readers Stages in Cool Cuisine – from baby steps to medium steps to total conscious eating. I think this sort of information is helpful for the eco-overwhelmed.

I also liked the “small things matter” sections with suggestions like making orange juice from local oranges instead of buying it packaged and shipped. So much tastier and easy to do.

The section on building a compost pile was particularly good. I learned some new things from the chart detailing which crops depend most on pollination from bees. It certainly explained why certain crops in my garden do better than others.

And I liked the cooking tips sprinkled throughout. One particularly good section talked about building a condiment plate with naturally tasty items like Gomashio, Umeboshi Plum Vinegar and Sea Vegetable Seasonings. (Though I can’t quite imagine cooking from this book because the recipes are overshadowed by all the information.)

If you want to gain an understanding of how food contributes to global warming along with the science details and tips to help you lower your impact, this book is a good choice. As a cookbook, this book is less successful. One simple fix would be a separate Table of Contents for the recipes with page references. That would go a long way for those people hoping to use this book in the kitchen.

The post Book Review: Cool Cuisine – Taking a Bite Out of Global Warming appeared first on EcoSalon.