If you want to know more about sustainable food but aren't sure where to begin start with our 3 Easy Steps. Simply educate yourself on the issues so you can ask the right questions in order to take action to eat healthier.
In other words - Educate, Ask, Act.
What is Sustainability?
When a process is sustainable, it can be maintained
indefinitely. Sustainable food production can be
maintained indefinitely because sustainable farmers
do not take more resources to produce food than
they give back. A reliance on renewable resources
- as well as on symbiotic relationships with nature
and the surrounding community - means that these
farms do not damage the environment, are humane
for workers and animals, provide a fair wage to the
farmer, and support and enhance rural life.
Because sustainable farmers see nature as an ally
rather an obstacle, they are able to produce more
wholesome food while using less fossil fuels (thus
lessening the impact on global warming), and without
using any synthetic pesticides, artificial hormones,
or antibiotics.
To learn more about why sustainable agriculture
works, visit Sustainable Table’s Introduction to
Sustainability section.
What is Factory Farming?
Factory farming takes a mechanized approach to
agriculture, based on the assumption that raising
more animals in smaller spaces is more efficient than
letting them live and graze naturally, and therefore
more profitable. What this assumption ignores are
the problems created when the realities of living
creatures – what they eat, how they behave, how
much waste they create – are at odds with the industrial
systems created to maximize their production.
But factory farms don’t just ignore the problems created
by intensive animal confinement, they have found
ways to foist those problems onto society. Rather
than responsibly manage animal waste, take measures
to prevent air pollution and soil contamination, or keep
their animals clean and healthy, these large scale farms
take short cuts and receive government subsidies,
forcing taxpayers to pay for their problems.
If factory farms were forced to pay for these costs
rather than taxpayers, the system would no longer
be seen as profitable. Consumers are already
starting to notice this and are turning to organic
and sustainable food instead.
What are the most important issues?
Both natural and synthetic hormones are regularly
administered to factory farmed beef cattle to make
them grow faster. rBGH is a genetically engineered
hormone that increases dairy cows’ milk production,
but also threatens their health. Studies have shown
that hormones added to meat and dairy products
may have negative effects on human health.
Read more about rBGH and hormones...
Antibiotics
The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that
70% of all antimicrobials used in the United States
are given to farm animals, to compensate for filthy
conditions as well as to promote growth. Increasingly,
traditional antibiotics (which are a type of antimicrobial)
are losing their effectiveness in the battle against
infectious diseases because of antibiotic overuse which
creates resistant bacteria. Read more about antibiotics...
Mad cow disease
Mad cow disease is a brain-wasting disease that is
spread among cows through factory farm feeding
practices. Humans can contract the disease by eating
infected meat. There is no cure and the disease is
always fatal. Read more about mad cow disease...
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering (GE) is the process of transferring
specific traits, or genes, from one organism into a different plant or animal. Much concern has been
raised over the inadequate testing of the effects of
genetic engineering on humans and the environment.
And once released into the environment, these
genetically engineered organisms cannot be cleaned
up or recalled. Learn more about the problems with factory farming and genetic engineering from Sustainable Table’s Issues section...
It is your right as a consumer
to know how the food you eat was produced. Use
Sustainable Table's Questions to
Ask section and come equipped to the farm, store or restaurant
to really nd out about what you’re eating.
You can print out “Questions to Ask” cards to carry
with you, so that you’ll always be ready to know
about your food.
Another way of “asking” for sustainably-raised meat
and dairy is to leave an “I Care” card behind. By
telling your local stores and restaurants that you
care where your food comes from, you are sending
a message that you want these products and you’ll
frequent establishments that carry them. Download
and print “I Care” cards here.
Visit the Eat Well Guide
Finding farms, stores and
restaurants in your area that serve sustainable meat
and dairy is the first step to incorporating this food
into your diet. The Eat Well Guide lists over 9,000
sustainable farms, stores, restaurants, bed & breakfasts,
and online retailers by zip code, making it easy for
someone new to sustainability to take the first step.
If changing your whole diet sounds intimidating, take it
one step at a time. Decide on a type of meat, dairy
product, or even fruit or vegetable that you will
start buying organically or sustainably. Once you get
comfortable with that, pick another food.
Know your farmer
The only real way to
know what’s in your food is to talk to the person
who grew it. There are many ways, even for urban
dwellers, to start buying directly from local farms,
either through farmers markets or community
supported agriculture groups.
Learn more about these options at www.sustainabletable.org/shop/.
Use the rBGH-free list to find
dairy products in your area that came from cows
that were not injected with this artificial growth
hormone.
Get Involved
This is an exciting movement
that’s sweeping across the country – and planet! Invite
your friends and neighbors over for sustainable dinners,
start a sustainable book club or plant a garden.
Visit our Get Involved section for
more ideas.
Have Questions?
Want to find other sustainable-minded people? Visit The Parlour, our online discussion forum for sustainable food and The Meatrix.
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