Ever since I attended the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change in 1997, I have been fascinated by the development of the international debate on this issue. There are few forces that can literally reshape the global landscape as climate change can. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, lakes that are drying up and rainforests that become savannahs are just some of the changes that are wrought by climate change.

These dramatic changes are already visible, but the impacts are expected to become increasingly more severe. Global warming not only has environmental consequences, but also serious social, economic and even security implications, making it an all-encompassing threat.

Yet, despite the scientific findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that climate change is occurring and is certainly caused by human activities, the international response to the problem has been far from sufficient. Overcoming this vast inertia in order to take action on climate change will require significant political and economic efforts, starting with Heads of State and Government and extending to the grassroots level.

Fortunately, climate change has re-emerged on the international political agenda. Just like ten years ago when the Kyoto Conference was held, more people, more businesses and more Governments—local and national—are recognizing climate change as a priority issue. The media has also stepped up its reporting on climate change, and the recent launches of the IPCC reports attracted more than double the attention the last IPCC assessment garnered five years ago.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made climate change one of his main priorities and has said that it is urgent for countries to agree on a strong framework by 2010 to ensure that there is no gap between the end of the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period in 2012 and the entry into force of a future regime. The problem is that there are vast hurdles that must be overcome before any agreement is reached. The emissions of greenhouse gases causing climate change are rising—not falling—and many countries have indicated that they are not ready to sacrifice their national economic interests without guarantees that everyone will be making similar efforts.

But there are other reasons for mistrust as well: most of the world’s 1.2 billion people who survive on $1 a day or less live in developing countries that have had little to do with causing the problem of climate change. There are many who ask, “Why then should poorer countries be constrained in their development efforts when people in industrialized countries lead comfortable, high-consumption lifestyles?” This is not a new question—and it was fundamentally addressed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro that produced “Agenda 21”, the universally agreed upon blueprint for sustainable development. Member States agreed that all people and countries had the right to develop, but that development should incorporate a balance of economic, social and environmental concerns. It was also recognized that industrialized countries needed to assist developing nations with the necessary resources and technologies needed for sustainable development.

The IPCC showed us there are solutions that are not economically prohibitive to effectively address climate change. But we need the collective will of all countries to embark on implementing these solutions. We need to build the trust between people quickly before it is either too late or too expensive to act. The cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of action. No matter what we do, the earth’s temperature will continue to rise for years to come. The IPCC predicts that the average warming would likely be in the range of 2º to 4.5º Celsius, with the best estimate of 3º C, or 5.4º F, by 2100. The longer we wait to act, the greater the build-up in greenhouse gases, and the result will be a higher rate of warming. Conversely, by acting aggressively now, according to the IPCC reports, we can limit the rate of climate change to a more manageable level.

The United Nations Conference on Climate Change, to be held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007, will be critical in the development of a long-term global response to climate change. Bali must be the place where countries begin negotiating on a global strategy that everyone can endorse and implement. But before we get to Bali, we need to develop some guiding principles that can help bring all relevant aspects of the problem together. For instance, we need to recognize that industrialized countries will have to take the lead on cutting emissions and that developing countries will have to be engaged in pursuing low-emissions development strategies. It must be recognized also that developing countries should benefit from incentives to limit emissions and assistance for adaptation. All of these could be tied together by a strengthened carbon market, which offers an opportunity to reduce the cost of emissions reduction, and to mobilize funds.

Stronger public-private partnerships, accelerated technological innovation and a renewed commitment to make existing renewable technologies economically viable will play a large role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing demand for energy will require an investment of $20 trillion in energy infrastructure through 2030. The decision to use cleaner, more energy-efficient technologies now could save lives and money in the long run.
The United Nations will play its part to address the problem by understanding the science through the IPCC reports, providing a forum for forging global agreements, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, and adopting new and innovative ideas and responses, such as the Clean Development Mechanism and carbon trading markets. The United Nations system, through its agencies that promote development, is working to ensure that responding to climate change does not adversely impact programmes to reduce poverty, but will, in fact, enhance this effort.

It is one thing to suggest ways for the world to deal with climate change and quite another to implement them at home. To lead by example, the United Nations itself is embarking upon a new greening initiative to make its own operations more climate-friendly. The Organization is looking at its plans to renovate its 55-year-old headquarters to see whether it can reduce its present energy use by more than 30 per cent, along with other energy efficiency, water conservation and waste recycling measures.

But it will take more than Governments or organizations to deal with climate change. It will take individuals like you and me to tackle this problem in our own lives, so that all people, now and in the future, will be able to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change.

• What’s So Great About Organic Food?

Looking for a quick way to feel lousy about yourself? Then forget the idea of a healthy diet and just eat what your body wants you to eat. Your body wants meat; your body wants fat; your body wants salt and sugar. Your body will put up with fruits and vegetables if it must, but only after all the meat, fat, salt and sugar are gone. And as for the question of where your food comes from — whether it’s locally grown, sustainably raised, grass-fed, free range or pesticide-free? Your body doesn’t give a hoot.

But you and your body aren’t the only ones with a stake in this game. Your doctor has opinions about what you should eat. So does your family. And so too do the food purists who lately seem to be everywhere, insisting that everything that crosses your lips be raised and harvested and brought to market in just the right way. If you find this tiresome — even intrusive — you’re not alone. “It’s food, man. It’s identity,” says James McWilliams, a professor of environmental history at Texas State University. “We encourage people to eat sensibly and virtuously, and then we set this incredibly high bar for how they do it.”

The ideal — as we’re reminded and reminded and reminded — is to go organic, to trade processed foods for fresh foods and the supermarket for the farmers’ market. Organic foods of all kinds currently represent only about 3% of the total American market, according to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but it’s a sector we all should be supporting more.

That sounds like a great idea, but we’ll pay a price for it. Organic fruits and vegetables cost 13¢ to 36¢ per lb. more than ordinary produce, though prices fluctuate depending on the particular food and region of the country. Milk certified as hormone- and antibiotic-free costs $6 per gal. on average, compared with $3.50 for ordinary grocery-store milk.

What’s more, while grass-fed beef is lower in fat, and milk without chemicals is clearly a good idea, it’s less obvious that organic fruits and vegetables have a nutritional edge to speak of. A 2009 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition led to a firestorm in the food world. It found no difference between organic and conventional produce with regard to all but three of the vitamins and other food components studied, and conventional produce actually squeaked past organic for one of those three.

“We draw these bright lines between organic and conventional food,” says McWilliams. “But science doesn’t draw those lines. They crisscross, and you have people on both sides of the argument cherry-picking their data.” For consumers trying to stay healthy and feed their families — and do both on budgets that have become tighter than ever — the ideological back-and-forth does no good at all. What’s needed are not arguments but answers.

The Wages of Eating
The biggest reason not to ignore the food purists is that in a lot of ways they’re right. Our diet is indeed killing us, and it’s killing the planet too. Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta released a study revealing that nearly 27% of Americans are now considered obese (that is, more than 20% above their ideal weight), and in nine states, the obesity rate tops 30%. We eat way too much meat — up to 220 lb. per year for every man, woman and child in the U.S. — and only 14% of us consume our recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Our processed food is dense with salt and swimming in high-fructose corn syrup, two flavors we can’t resist. Currently, enough food is manufactured in the U.S. for every American to consume 3,800 calories per day — we need only 2,350 in a healthy diet — and while some of that gets thrown away, most is gobbled up long before it can go stale on the shelves.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2011756_2011730,00.html#ixzz0×8tGXAmZ

Taste Test

• Farm vs. Supermarket
• Chicken
• Carrots
• Steak
• White Nectarines
• Tomatoes
• Pork
• Eggs
• Goat Cheese

Organic vs. Conventional

• Eggs
• Milk
• Beef
• Fruits/Vegetables

Prescription

• The Organic Alternative

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2011756,00.html#ixzz0×8sxXfjh

The Green Crowd: With values intact, local farms withstand economic storm

Daniel Bornstein

If you’re serious about eating sustainably produced and healthful foods, you cannot let the economic downturn lure you toward the cheapest, most convenient foods.

In asking local food advocates about the support for locally grown food nowadays, I’ve found that core food values transcend short-term concerns about the economy.

At the center of the local food movement is a commitment to health and community values. Local food advocates have long said that paying more for food includes benefits that might seem less obvious.

Mark Thompson, Executive Chef of Dining Services at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., told me that food safety needs to get more attention.

Determined to make sure that delivery methods were sound, he and other Williams Dining Service employees visited a farm/processor in upstate New York last month.

The significance of this close connection between consumer and food is that it holds producers more accountable for food safety. Essentially, if a college found a farm’s delivery methods to be questionable, it could simply tell the farmer that they’d find another local farm. I doubt that fast-food restaurants—which distribute unsustainable food—would have the nerve to offer that warning to entrenched agribusiness in Iowa.

Our industrial agriculture system’s inspections suffer from bureaucratic tangles within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Farmers are so distant from victims of, say, salmonella poisoning that it’s difficult to hold those farmers’ feet to the fire.

In addition to food safety, nutritional value is the other health value of local food. Given that industrial farms produce food that is eventually sold at fast-food restaurants, our large-scale farming model is a driving force behind obesity.

Jillian Follert

OSHAWA — Oshawa’s newest community garden is set to sprout at the Legends Centre this fall.

It’s the second local community garden project spearheaded by the Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities, a group dedicated to preserving the planet.

“People need to get back to basics when it comes to food,” said FBSC president Joan Kerr. “Growing and cooking your own fresh produce is nutritious and it’s good for the environment.”

The FBSC opened its first community garden in Oshawa this spring at Windfields Farm. Ms. Kerr said the response has been enthusiastic, with families working together on their plots.

“It’s using food as a catalyst for community building,” she said.

When it came time to choose a location for the next garden, Ms. Kerr worked with City of Oshawa staff to find a spot that met all the criteria, from water availability and security to shade and parking.

Mike Molinari, the City’s director of parks and environmental services, said the Legends Centre — located on Harmony Road North — was the clear winner, especially because it already has ample washrooms and parking.

“All the infrastructure is already in place, and that land wasn’t being used for anything, so it’s perfect,” he said.

Council’s community services committee approved the Legends Centre location on June 15 and council is expected to confirm its support June 28.

The site has room for 80 garden plots, which will be rented out for between $40 and $50 per season, as well as space to build raised, accessible garden beds.

100% Vegetarian Diet
Animals are not fed any animal byproducts. This does not guarantee they were raised outdoors or on pasture, but it should indicate that they were raised on grasses, hay, silage and other feed found on pasture or in a field. Grain, like corn, is vegetarian and falls into this category. Producers feeding their animals a 100% vegetarian diet should not be giving them supplements or additives, but it is always best to check with the farmer.

AFO
Abbreviation for Animal Feeding Operation, which is an agricultural business where animals are raised in confined situations and fed an unnatural diet, instead of allowing them to roam and graze. The EPA determines whether an agricultural business is an AFO based on regulations created by the Clean Water Act.

Agribusiness
A fairly new term that combines agriculture and business. In the past, agriculture has been treated as something completely separate from other types of business. Over the past 50 years, factory farm companies have been replacing traditional agriculture, so now we need new words and new ways of thinking about agriculture to describe where our food comes from.

Antibiotic-free
See “No antibiotics administered, raised without antibiotics, or antibiotic-free“.

Antibiotic resistance
Bacteria’s ability to mutate in order to survive treatment with antibiotics. Over time, bacteria are able to change their characteristics so that antibiotics cannot kill them. This process happens faster when antibiotics are used very frequently, especially at low doses over long periods of time, which is common on factory farms where antibiotics are added to feed.

Antibiotics
Medicines created using microbes or fungi that are weakened and taken into the body to destroy harmful bacteria.

Arsenic
To control infections and increase weight gain, chickens are fed compounds containing arsenic, listed as a known carcinogen in the U.S. Department of Health’s 9th Report on Carcinogens. Most is excreted in chicken manure, which is piled into rows or used as fertilizer on fields, then contributing a huge quantity of arsenic to the environment annually.

Beyond Organic
When the US government officially approved standards for organic food, a number of farmers dropped their organic certification because they felt the organic label had been co-opted by big business, and there was a burdensome amount of paperwork that they could not keep up with. Many of these farmers raise their animals and crops using methods that are even stricter than the USDA organic standards. There has been an effort to categorize these farmers, so some people are now calling these types of farms “Beyond Organic”.

Biodynamics
This holistic method of agriculture is certified by a third-party agency and is based on the philosophy that all aspects of the farm should be treated as an interrelated whole. Having emerged as the first non-chemical agricultural movement approximately 20 years before the development of “organic” agriculture, biodynamics has now spread throughout the world. Biodynamic farmers work in harmony with nature and use a variety of techniques, such as crop rotation and on-farm composting, to foster a sustainable and productive environment. Read our featured article on biodynamics or visit the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association for more information.

Boar
Male pig.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) See Mad Cow Disease.

Broiler
A chicken raised for its meat. Typically weighs between 3.5 and 6 pounds.

Bull
Male cattle.

CAFO
Abbreviation for Confined Animal Feeding Operation, which is an agricultural business where animals are raised in confined situations and fed an unnatural diet, instead of allowing them to roam and graze. This is an operation that is considered more hazardous than an AFO for one or more reasons, such as the number of animals or the location of the facility, its proximity to surface water and potential to discharge waste into that water. The EPA determines whether an agricultural business is a CAFO based on regulations created by the Clean Water Act, and special permits have to be given for the owners to operate a CAFO legally. Enforcement of these regulations has not been very strict, which has caused many problems.

Cage-Free
Birds are raised without cages. What this doesn’t explain is if the birds were raised outdoors on pasture, if they had access to outside, or if they were raised indoors in overcrowded conditions. If you are looking to buy eggs, poultry or meat that was raised outdoors, look for a label that says “Pastured” or “Pasture-raised”.

Clean Air Act
Set of laws passed in 1970 to regulate air pollution in the US. The goal of this act was to improve air quality, and it was revised in 1990 to be more detailed about issues such as the hole in the ozone layer and acid rain.

Clean Water Act
Set of laws passed in 1972 to regulate water pollution in the US. This was the first-ever federal regulation of water pollution, and it gave the EPA the right to set standards and enforce them. The goal of this act was to completely stop the discharge of pollutants into the Waters of the United States and make all bodies of water in the US fishable and swimmable. Making this happen is very difficult and expensive because it’s not always easy to find out who is polluting.

Contract grower
Farmer who makes an agreement with an agribusiness company, giving the company the power to make all the farm’s decisions, including which animals are raised there, what they are fed, and how they are treated. In return the company pays the farmer and buys the supplies.

Cover crops
Crops that are grown not to be harvested for food but to cover and protect soil surface and prevent soil erosion.

Country of Origin Labeling
If approved, this initiative would require beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts to be labeled with the country in which they were produced. In addition to providing consumers with valuable information about their food, Country of Origin Labeling would help to promote locally-produced meat and would enable meat to be more easily traced in the event of a recall or an outbreak of disease.

Crop rotation
The practice of alternating different crops in a field in planned cycles in order to regulate nitrogen levels, prevent soil erosion, reduce fertilizer needs and improve the overall long-term productivity of the land.

CSA
Abbreviation for Community Supported Agriculture, a system in which consumers support a local farm by paying in advance for agricultural products. This reduces the financial risks for the farmer because the costs of seeds and planting crops are covered in advance by consumers. Throughout the growing season, CSA members receive a portion of the farm’s harvest each week. Members share the financial risks and the bounty of the harvest — if it is a successful growing season, they receive a lot of food; if there are fewer crops, they receive less. Members are also encouraged to visit the farm and some even volunteer there.

Dead Zone
An area in the Gulf of Mexico where oxygen levels are so low that most marine organisms cannot sruvive. One of the primary causes is runoff from farms in the Mississippi watershed.

Dioxins
Dioxins are a man-made pollutant with an array of health risks in humans. Potent toxics, they act as endocrine disruptors (interfering with the body’s natural hormone signals), damage the immune system, and may affect reproduction and childhood development. Dioxins are “persistent” compounds which drift around the world, and then tend to accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans. 95% of typical human exposure comes through dietary intake of animal fats such as meat, dairy and eggs.

Diversification
Method of farming that involves more than one agricultural product.

Downers
Animals that collapse during transportation or at the slaughterhouse, too stressed or sick to continue walking. Because normal animals fetch a higher price at the market, downers are frequently kicked or prodded in attempts to force them to move. Those that do not move may be left on the ground without food or water for days before they die. Downers are routinely processed for human consumption.

E. coli
A species of bacteria that lives in the intestines of people and other vertebrates (animals with spines). Although the bacteria that naturally exist in your intestines are harmless and helpful in digestion, eating or drinking E. coli that comes from outside, such as in polluted water or meat that has not been processed safely, can cause severe food poisoning or even death.

Eco-labeling
A method of identifying products that cause less damage to the environment than other products (such as Fair Trade, organic, Food Alliance certified, raised without antibiotics, etc.). There exists a wide selection of eco-labels with different criteria and varying degrees of legitimacy. While some labels indicate that food was produced according to strict guidelines enforced and verified by third-party food-certifying agencies, other labels are self-awarded by food producers. For additional information about eco-labels, visit the Consumers Union Guide to Environmental Labels.

Efficiency
An economic term for conditions that create the biggest possible profit with the smallest possible costs. This is an important idea in industry, since the goal of any business is to make as much money as possible and avoid wasting anything — think of wastefulness as the opposite of efficiency.

Effluent
Liquid waste, often from a factory or sewer. This is a term that is often used to refer to the urine and manure that is pumped into or out of a lagoon.

Electronic Pasteurization or Electronically Pasteurized
Means the food has been irradiated. See Treated by Irradiation below and the Food Irradiation page for more information.

EPA
Environmental Protection Agency. A part of the US federal government that enforces environmental laws and provides information and guidance to policy makers.

Externality
A cost or benefit of a product or service that is not included in its price.  For instance, a negative externality of a factory farm is the enormous amount of pollution it generates; although the pollution increases health care costs and necessitates expensive cleanup efforts, these costs are not paid by the consumers who purchase food produced by these farms or by the owners of the factory farms. Instead, the costs are borne by society. On the other hand, a positive externality of a sustainable farm is the preservation of unpolluted, undeveloped greenspace; although society enjoys the benefits of these areas (preservation of biodiversity, protection of clean water, aesthetic appeal, etc.), no one provides compensation to the farmers who maintain the land.

Factory farm
A large-scale industrial site where many animals (generally chickens, turkeys, cattle, or pigs) are confined and treated with hormones and antibiotics to maximize growth and prevent disease. The animals produce much more waste than the surrounding land can handle. These operations are associated with various environmental hazards as well as cruelty to animals. The government calls these facilities Concentrated (or Confined) Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a CAFO as “new and existing operations which stable or confine and feed or maintain for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period more than the number of animals specified” in categories that they list out. In addition, “there’s no grass or other vegetation in the confinement area during the normal growing season.”

Family farm / Small farm
Defined by the USDA as a farm with less than $250,000 gross receipts annually on which day-to-day labor and management is provided by the farmer and/or the farm family that owns the production or owns or leases the productive assets.

FDA
Food and Drug Administration. This government agency regulates industries and labels food and related items such as medicines and cosmetics.

Feedlots
Buildings, lots, or a combination of buildings and lots in which animals are confined for feeding, breeding, raising, and/or holding. The concentration of hundreds or thousands of animals in a confined feedlot facility drastically reduces the welfare of these animals, creates health risks, promotes the spread of disease, and yields tremendous quantities of animal waste, which pollutes the natural environment and threatens human health.

Finishing
The process through which an animal gains weight prior to slaughter.  On factory farms, animals are generally finished on a pure grain-based diet, which induces rapid weight gain and creates the “marbled” layers of fat in beef to which consumers are accustomed.  However, cows and other ruminants are naturally adapted to eat grasses; large quantities of grain cause them to develop high levels of acidity within their digestive tracts, leading to a number of health problems.  Sustainably-raised animals are finished on pasture, where they consume the grasses and other plants that their bodies are best adapted to digest.  Research has shown that meat and dairy products from grassfed animals are better for human health than foods from grainfed animals. Note: Grassfed, grain-supplemented animals are also raised on pasture, but are given access to controlled amounts of grain during the finishing period and do not encounter the health problems that animals fed a pure grain diet can face.

Fishkill
Sudden death of a significant number of fish or other aquatic life such as crabs or shrimp within one area. A fishkill can be caused by many different changes in the environment, including pollution, temperature change and change in acidity.

Food Alliance
Meats labeled “The Food Alliance Approved” were raised on ranches that preserve soil and water quality, and were provided access to fresh air, pasture, and comfortable living quarters, without artificial hormones, rBGH, or unnecessary antibiotics. This claim is verified by third-party inspectors. (www.thefoodalliance.org) Meats are available in some farmers’ markets and natural foods stores in the Northwest and Midwest; online store also sells products.

Free range
This term refers to animals (usually poultry, and the eggs that they produce) that are not confined, meaning that these animals are able to go outdoors to engage in natural behaviors. It does not necessarily mean that the products are cruelty-free or antibiotic-free, or that the animals spend the majority of their time outdoors. The use of the term “free range” is only defined by the USDA for poultry production, and need only mean that the bird has had some access to the outdoors each day, which could be a dirty or concrete feedlot. USDA considers five minutes of open-air access each day to be adequate. Claims are defined by USDA, but are not verified by third party inspectors.

Free walkers
These hens are housed indoors, though they can move around and have unlimited access to food. Similar to “cage-free“.

Genetic engineering
The science of changing the DNA of a plant or animal to produce desirable characteristics. Examples of desirable characteristics include fast growth and unusually large size. This is a very controversial science that many believe has not been adequately tested and studied. In addition, not everyone agrees that the plants and animals that are genetically engineered are safe for humans to eat or safe for the environment if released.

Genetically modified
See “GMO“.

GMO
Genetically Modified Organism. This is a plant or animal that has been genetically engineered. Many industries support the development and use of GMOs while many consumers and organizations question their safety and have called for adequate and independent testing of GMO products. It is legal for farmers in the U.S. and some other countries like Argentina to produce and sell certain GMOs for human and animal consumption, but in other places like Europe and Japan, they are banned until further testing can be done to prove they are safe.

GMO-Free or No GMOs
The product was produced without the use of GMOs (genetically-modified organisms). For more information, visit the Genetic Engineering page in the Issues section.

Grain-fed
The animal was raised on a diet of grain and the grain could be supplemented with animal byproducts and other miscellaneous matter such as cement dust and/or euthanized cats and dogs. Since mad cow disease is thought to be transmitted through animal byproducts added to cattle feed, cows raised on a strictly vegetarian diet are preferred by many consumers. However, unless the label says “100 Percent Vegetarian Diet,” there is no guarantee that the animal’s feed was not supplemented with animal byproducts or is organic. In addition, cattle are ruminants and eat grass; they cannot digest grains properly and can become sick if fed a diet of only grain. Although large-scale, confined grain feedlots enable industrial meat producers to fatten their animals quickly, they also foster disease within the cattle population, creating the need for antibiotics and increasing the risk of E. Coli contamination. Grain-fed animals tend to be raised on factory farms and should be avoided.

Grain Finished
Cattle who are fed only grain before slaughter. Some producers raise their animals on pasture but then feed them grain for a certain amount of time before slaughter. Grain makes the meat fattier and creates the taste most people are currently accustomed to.

Grass-fed
Animals graze on pasture and eat grasses. They should not be supplemented with grain, animal by-products, synthetic hormones, or be given antibiotics to promote growth or prevent disease (though they might be given antibiotics to treat disease). This is the same as pastured or pasture raised.

Grass Fed/Grain Supplemented
Animals are raised on pasture and eat grasses. At a certain point, grains are slowly introduced into the diet in a controlled amount, along with the grasses. By controlling the amount of grain, the animals do not become sick and do not develop digestion problems that solely grain-fed cattle can encounter. They are also not forced to eat the grain.

Heritage
Heritage foods are derived from rare and endangered breeds of livestock and crops. Animals are purebreds and are a specific breed of animal that is near extinction. Production standards are not required by law, but true heritage farmers use sustainable production methods. This method of production saves animals from extinction and preserves genetic diversity.

Groundwater
Water that exists beneath the earth’s surface in underground streams and aquifers.

Heavy metals
Metallic chemicals like cadmium, arsenic, copper and zinc that can be harmful pollutants when they enter soil and water. These chemicals are put into animal feed to help make animals grow faster. Heavy metals are present in human and animal waste and can enter the environment if waste is released without being treated. Animal waste is never treated to remove heavy metals. Once in the environment, heavy metals are almost impossible to get rid of because they do not decompose.

Holistic Management
A decision making framework that assists farmers and others in establishing a long-term goal, a detailed financial plan, a biological plan for the landscape and a monitoring program to assess progress toward the goal. See ATTRA for more information.

Hormones
Chemicals found naturally in animals’ bodies that control processes like growth and metabolism. Synthetic (man-made) hormones have been developed for a number of purposes, including treatment of hormonal disorders in people, and also for promotion of unnaturally fast growth in farm animals. One of the most well-known and controversial hormones used in farming is recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone or rBGH, which is genetically engineered and injected into dairy cattle. (See rBGH.) Scientists have linked excess hormones to cancer.

Hormone Free
The USDA has prohibited use of the term “Hormone Free,” but meats can be labeled “No Hormones Administered.”

Impoundment
A large pond or lake, sometimes 50 to 100 acres, constructed to water the hogs at hog confinement facilities.

Independent family farm
Farm on which the ownership and management are controlled by at least one family member who lives on the farm, not by a corporation or absentee owner.

IPM (Integrated pest management)
Natural pest control methods, such as habitat manipulation, biological control, and pest-resistant plants, are used to eliminate pest problems. Pesticides are used in the smallest possible amounts only when other techniques prove inadequate.

Irradiation
Exposure to radiation. Meat is sometimes irradiated to kill micro-organisms and reduce the number of microbes present due to unsanitary practices, but this process alters the nutritional quality and creates new chemicals that can be harmful to the humans who consume the meat. Many believe that there has not been enough testing to know whether irradiated food is safe for humans. For more information, visit our Food Irradiation Issues page or Food and Watch Watch’s food irradiation page.

Lagoon
A huge, manmade hole in the ground created to hold a mixture of water and animal waste until it can be applied to land. These can be as big as several square acres (1 acre = 43,560 square feet) and hold 20-25 million gallons of liquid waste. This is equivalent to more than 98 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Lagoons are generally not covered and frequently leak into the surrounding soil or groundwater, so they are associated with air, water and soil pollution.

Layer
Hen (female chicken) raised to lay eggs.

Mastitis
Common bacterial infection among dairy cows that causes the udder to be painful and swollen. It is associated with overproduction of milk, and cows that are injected with rBGH are prone to mastitis. Mastitis is treated with antibiotics, which contributes to the problem of antibiotic resistance because traces of the drugs end up in the milk.

Mad cow disease
Common name for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a cattle disease that causes the brain to waste away. It takes about 4-7 years for cattle to show symptoms of the disease after being exposed to it, but once symptoms become visible the cattle die within weeks. One way this disease is spread is by feeding the meat from infected cattle to other cattle (meat from infected sheep may also cause the disease). This was a common practice on factory farms until the 1980s and 1990s when it was outlawed in most countries because it was found to cause BSE. At that time, thousands of cattle believed to have been exposed to BSE were killed to prevent further spread of the disease. Consuming beef from infected cattle causes a brain-wasting disease called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans.

Methane
A gas given off by animal waste. It can be used as fuel, but the process to turn it into fuel is very expensive, so this is not done very often. Methane is a greenhouse gas, which means that it contributes to global warming.

Mobile Meat Processing Unit
A slaughterhouse in a trailer that can be moved from one farm to another in order to accommodate small farmers and ranchers. The units drastically reduce the stress animals endure from being transported long distances.

Molting / Forced molting
Part of a hen’s natural reproductive cycle. After laying eggs for about a year, a hen loses her feathers and rests for a few weeks as new feathers grow in. This is called molting, or a molt, and it usually happens at the beginning of winter. On factory farms, hens are subjected to forced molting, where farm operators cause this process to happen rapidly by depriving hens of food and water for several days and altering the schedule of light and darkness in the confinement building. This way, all the hens molt simultaneously and over a very short time period.

Monoculture
Monoculture is the destruction of a diverse ecosystem and replacement with a single species or crop. This is common practice in modern agriculture, where large acreages of crops are grown for sale to other regions or countries. Monocultures deplete the soil, and fruits and vegetables become more susceptible to pests and disease than those grown in a diverse crop environment, thus requiring larger amounts of chemical sprays.

Natural
Currently, no standards exist for this label except when used on meat and poultry products. USDA guidelines state that “Natural” meat and poultry products can only undergo minimal processing and cannot contain artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, or other artificial ingredients. However, “natural” foods are not necessarily sustainable, organic, humanely raised, or free of hormones and antibiotics. The label “natural” is virtually meaningless.

New variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD)
Disease in humans that causes the brain to waste away, caused by eating meat infected with Mad Cow Disease (BSE) or other related animal diseases. It was first detected in 1994, and although it is still not known how much time it takes for symptoms to show up after a person is exposed, some scientists say it may take up to 40 years, so it is still not known how many people have been infected. Read more about BSE and vCJD in our issues section.

Nitrates
Chemicals made up of oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. When chemicals containing nitrogen (for example, ammonia) combine with water, nitrates are usually formed, and these nitrates can cause serious illness or even death if large amounts are consumed. Nitrate poisoning is usually caused by drinking water contaminated with nitrates. The primary sources of nitrate pollution are human waste and manure, especially runoff from factory farms. Processed meat also often contains nitrates, which are used to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and to enhance the color. Eating meat that has been treated with nitrates may cause health problems including cancer, migraines, high cholesterol and hyperactivity.

No antibiotics administered, raised without antibiotics or antibiotic-free
No antibiotics were administered to the animal during its lifetime. If an animal becomes sick, it will be taken out of the herd and treated but it will not be sold with this label. For more information, read the Antibiotics page in the Issues section.

No Hormones Administered or No Added Hormones – Animals were raised without added growth hormones. By law, hogs and poultry cannot be given any hormones – so the use of the label on these meats is misleading! To ensure that other meats were raised without added hormones, ask your farmer or butcher. For more information, visit the Hormones page.

No-till farming
The practice of planting new crops amidst cuttings of old crops and not plowing the field in order to slow the release of carbon dioxide and diminish the greenhouse effect. No-till and low-till practices also increase the retention of water and nutrients, allowing earthworms and other organisms to proliferate and keep the soil healthy.

Non-point source pollution
Harmful substances that are carried by rain and snow moving over and through the earth and end up in groundwater, rivers, lakes or the ocean. These substances come from various sources and can be natural or man-made. They’re called non-point source because instead of being dumped directly from a house or factory into a body of water, the pollutant is diluted and transported by the natural cycle of precipitation.

Non-therapeutic Antibiotics
Antibiotics administered to animals for purposes other than the treatment of existing illness.  Factory farms routinely administer non-therapeutic antibiotics to their animals in order to boost growth rates and to prevent the outbreak of diseases which would otherwise run rampant within crowded, unsanitary factory farm facilities.  The use of non-therapeutic antibiotics promotes the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, causing antibiotics used to treat humans to become less effective. For more information, read the Antibiotics page in the Issues section.

Nutrient pollution
Contamination of water by too many nutrients, which often come from fertilizer or waste runoff. In surface waters, this can cause overproduction of algae (this is called an algal bloom), which uses up all the oxygen in the water and suffocates fish and other marine life.

Organic
In order to be labeled “organic,” a product, its producer, and the farmer must meet the USDA’s organic standards and must be certified by a USDA-approved food-certifying agency. Organic foods cannot be grown using synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, or sewage sludge, cannot be genetically modified, and cannot be irradiated. Organic meat and poultry must be fed only organically-grown feed (without any animal byproducts) and cannot be treated with hormones or antibiotics. Furthermore, the animals must have access to the outdoors, and ruminants must have access to pasture (which doesn’t mean they actually have to go outdoors and graze on pasture to be considered organic. See also “USDA Certified Organic“.) For more information, read the Organic page in the Issues section.

Pastured or Pasture-Raised
Indicates the animal was raised on a pasture and that it ate grasses and food found in a pasture, rather than being fattened on grain in a feedlot or barn. Pasturing livestock and poultry is a traditional farming technique that allows animals to be raised in a humane, ecologically sustainable manner. This is basically the same as grass-fed, though the term pasture-raised indicates more clearly that the animal was raised outdoors on pasture. (See Grass-Fed)

Pathogens
Micro-organisms that cause disease.

Pesticides
Poultry houses attract many types of pest (lice, rodents, roaches, etc.) and birds receive frequent doses of insecticides to combat these unwanted vermin. There are legal limits set for pesticide residues in the poultry products obtained from these facilities, but testing is infrequent. For more information, read the Pesticides page in the Issues section.

Pollutant
Any substance that causes harm to the environment when it mixes with soil, water, or air.

Raised without added hormones
See “No hormones administered, raised without added hormones“.

Raised without antibiotics
See “No antibiotics administered, raised without antibiotics, or antibiotic-free“.

Raised Without the Routine Use of Antibiotics
Antibiotics were not given to the animal to promote growth or to prevent disease, but may have been administered if the animal became ill. For more information, read the Antibiotics page in the Issues section.

rBGH
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, also called recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST). This is a genetically engineered hormone that is injected into dairy cows to increase their milk production. Cows injected with rBGH have shorter life spans and are much more likely to suffer from udder infections. rBGH is only legal in three countries: the United States, South Africa, and Mexico. RBGH has been banned in Canada, the European Union and elsewhere because of inadequate testing and some evidence that it leads to cancer.See the rBGH page in the Issues section for more information.

rBGH-Free or rBST-Free
rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) is a genetically engineered growth hormone that is injected into dairy cows to artificially increase their milk production. The hormone has not been properly tested for safety. Milk labeled “rBGH-Free” is produced by dairy cows that never received injections of this hormone. Organic milk is rBGH free. (rBST stands for recombinant bovine somatotropin.) See the rBGH page in the Issues section for more information.

Rotational grazing, using paddocks.

Rotational grazing
The practice of moving animals between two paddocks, so that each paddock undergoes a short grazing period followed by a longer rest period. The practice protects pastures from overgrazing and reduces soil erosion.

Ruminant
Ruminants are hooved animals with four-chambered stomachs which enable them to digest cellulose.  After eating, ruminants regurgitate a semi-digested material called cud, which they chew, then eat again.  Cows, goats, sheep, bison, deer, camels, llamas, and giraffes are all ruminants. These animals eat a pure vegetarian diet.

Runoff
Water from precipitation or irrigation that flows over the ground and into bodies of water. It can contribute to soil erosion and carry harmful pollutants.

Salmonella
A type of bacteria that causes food poisoning and is commonly found in meat and animal waste, particularly poultry.

Self Certified
The farmer makes claims such as “No hormones administered”, but there is no outside verification of the claims, meaning the consumer believes the farmer at his or her word. Many reliable, legitimate sustainable farmers are self certified, but it’s still best to know your farmer, butcher and/or to trust the brand you buy. Almost all of the claims in this section self certified. Visit our Questions to Ask section for a list of questions and answers to ask your producer and/or farmer.

Small farm/Family farm
Farm that earns no more than $250,000 per year and on which the day-to-day labor and management is provided by the farmer and/or farm family that owns or leases the production or production equipment. This does not necessarily mean that the farm is organic or cruelty free, or even that it is not controlled by a major agricultural company. Many family farmers have become contract growers.

Sow
Female pig that has produced a litter of piglets.

Spent hen
A hen that is no longer able to function as a factory egg-producing machine — usually about two years old. These hens, which frequently have broken bones and badly bruised bodies, are sold cheaply for use in frozen dinners or canned soups, or are discarded.

Sprayfield
Land where animal waste from the lagoon is applied. High-powered hoses are used to spray the animal waste up in the air; the waste particles can travel many miles before settling onto the land.

Steer
Castrated male cattle.

Subtherapeutic
Below the dosage levels used to treat diseases. E.g.: subtherapeutic feeding of penicillin to livestock. See antibiotics and hormones.

Surface water
Water that sits or flows above the earth, including lakes, oceans, rivers, and streams.

Sustainability
The ability to provide for the needs of the world’s current population without damaging the ability of future generations to provide for themselves. When a process is sustainable, it can be carried out over and over without negative environmental effects or impossibly high costs to anyone involved.

Sustainable
A product can be considered sustainable if its production enables the resources from which it was made to continue to be available for future generations. A sustainable product can thus be created repeatedly without generating negative environmental effects, without causing waste products to accumulate as pollution, and without compromising the wellbeing of workers or communities. Many different agricultural techniques can be utilized to help make food production more sustainable. The drawback of the term ‘sustainable’ is that the term lacks a clear-cut, universally-accepted, enforceable definition – thus it can be interpreted in different ways. It is more of a philosophy or way of life than a label. See the Introduction to Sustainability section for more information.

Sustainable agriculture
Farming that provides a secure living for farm families; maintains the natural environment and resources; supports the rural community; and offers respect and fair treatment to all involved, from farm workers to consumers to the animals raised for food.

Tail-docking
Common factory farm practice of cutting off half or more of an animal’s tail, frequently performed on cattle and pigs. This prevents pigs from chewing one another’s tails and cattle from hitting workers with manure-covered tails. This is a painful procedure, which is not necessary when animals are not confined since they do not exhibit these behaviors. Learn more about Animal Welfare in our Issues section.

Third Party Certified (or Verified)
Food inspected by a company operating independently of the producer or distributor. The third party certification company confirms the legitimacy of claims made by food producers and distributors, thus ensuring that the food labels are meaningful. Organic and Biodynamic Certified are examples of third-party certification. Next to knowing your farmer or butcher, this is the most reliable way to trust the meat you’re eating. The problem is that there are only a few third-party certified labels – to find out what they are, visit the Consumers Union Eco-labels site and click on “View by Label” in the Search by Label green box.

Transitional
A farm or grower who is converting to organic practices but has not yet completed the transition.

Treated by Irradiation or Treated with Radiation
The FDA requires that food treated with irradiation be labeled with one of these phrases and to carry a radura symbol. See the Food Irradiation page for more information and for a picture of the radura. Unfortunately, if you eat at a restaurant or in an institution such as a hospital, you will not know if the food has been irradiated.

USDA
United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA, which was founded by Abraham Lincoln, supports rural development, food safety, nutrition and research for agricultural technology. The agency is also in charge of national forest and rangelands and works to reduce hunger in the US and internationally.

Vacuoles
Microscopic holes in the grey matter of animals infected with spongiform encelepathy. See BSE, mad cow disease, and vCJD.

Veal
Beef from calves that are less than six months old — usually slaughtered at about 16 weeks of age.

Vertical Integration
Economic term that is often used to describe a trend in the agriculture industry. When an agriculture corporation is vertically integrated, it is involved in more than one phase of meat production. Many of these big businesses have their own feedlots, slaughterhouses, meatpacking plants, and distributors, so they have complete control over the lives and deaths of the animals they raise.

Wastewater
Water that has been used and thrown away from residential, business or industrial sources. It can contain a variety of waste products like soap, chemicals or manure.

Watershed
Area of land that contributes runoff to a particular, common body of water. (To understand this concept better, you can find a map of the watershed you live in by going to the EPA web site.)

By Katie Scarvey – Salisbury Post

A new way of thinking about food. That’s what the documentary “Fresh,” screened last Thursday in Salisbury, was designed to promote.

The screening at Catawba College’s Center for the Environment was co-sponsored by the center, Bread Riot and Wild Turkey Farms. A panel discussion followed, featuring Dr. Chris Magryta of Salisbury Pediatrics, Maggie Blackwell of the Salisbury City Council and Bread Riot, Lee Menius of Wild Turkey Farms and Libby Post, director of child nutrition for Rowan-Salisbury Schools. The innovative way “Fresh” is being distributed around the country seems to fit its subject matter. Rather than screening in theatres, it’s been released to small groups — who often discuss its content afterward — in order to create a shift in consciousness from a grassroots level. The goal, according to the “Fresh” Web site, has been to “create a ripple effect” and help “reach a tipping point where sustainable food is no longer a niche market but mainstream.” With 200 people attending locally, there is clearly strong interest locally.

The movie explains different farming approaches and ultimately expresses optimism that we can evolve beyond our current industrialized farming paradigm to smaller, more sustainable — and still profitable — models. The movie begins with a poultry farm that packs huge numbers of chickens into small spaces, giving them antibiotic-laced feed to prevent the illness that often accompanies such stressful conditions.

Such a “monoculture,” with large numbers of a single species grown together, is not healthy or sustainable in the long term, the film argues, whether it’s chickens or cottons or soybeans being exclusively grown. For example, in the cattle feedlot model, with no field crops, vast lagoons of waste are produced, creating serious environmental issues.

And when only crops are grown, with no animals to produce the manure that keeps fields healthy, huge amounts of chemical fertilizer must be used, since planting the same crop year in, year out, depletes the soil. In the ideal system, diversity promotes health and efficiency. Animal waste goes back into the soil, so plant crops don’t need chemical fertilizers. The film questions factory farming without demonizing those who practice it, since many farmers have simply done what “experts” have recommended in recent years.

Joel Salatin is one farmer, from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, who practices sustainable farming. Salatin, who is featured prominently in Michael Pollan’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” explains that cows are herbivores and points out that in our quest for cheap food and more “efficient” farming methods, some farming operations are feeding animal protein — “dead cows” — to cows. Salatin said that when his father acquired the farm many years ago, he rejected the prevailing wisdom and chose to follow a more natural template. Following in his father’s footsteps, Salatin is an outspoken and charismatic advocate of grass feeding. After the cows have grazed one area, it’s the chickens’ turn to follow behind, pecking through the waste, eating what’s useful for them, including undigested grain and bugs. His chickens are allowed, Salatin says, “to fully express their chicken-ness.” (It’s an approach that is quite similar to what Lee and Domisty Menius are doing at Wild Turkey Farms near China Grove.) Hog farmer Russ Kremer explained that when he went to college, increased production was the main goal for the modern farmer. “I got hung up on efficiency,” he says. He finally came to the realization that his “efficient” operation was anything but. His hogs were constantly sick, he says, and he spent much of his time injecting them with medication. He had an epiphany after one of his boar hogs stabbed him in the kneecap. The resulting strep infection, he believes, was a particularly virulent “monster” strain because of the overuse of antibiotics — common practice in the industry. Deciding he’d gone down the wrong path, he exterminated his whole herd and started over, with a radically different approach. As a result, the diseases disappeared, and Kremer says he hasn’t used an antibiotic on his hogs in 14 years. His vet bills have all but disappeared. He now raises 300 hogs — fewer than before, but enough for him to earn a living. Raising fewer animals will mean that farmers will need to make more on each one, but the writer of “Omnivore’s Dilemma” Michael Pollan points out that local and organic food, while more expensive, is a higher value product. Cheap food is an illusion, he says, when the bill is ultimately charged to the environment or to our health. Farm subsidies, he points out, tend to go to crops like soybeans and corn, which are main ingredients of unhealthy processed food.

The movie also highlights Will Allen, an urban farmer and activist who farms on three acres in Milwaukee. More importantly, perhaps, Allen teaches what he knows and spreads the gospel of healthy food production.

The film also looks at David Ball, owner of a chain of independent supermarkets dedicated to supporting local sustainable agriculture. Discussion Thursday night after the film focused on shopping locally, from local producers. Many questions concerned how consumers could support local producers. City Council member and Bread Riot member Maggie Blackwell emphasized the importance of people supporting local businesses and building relationships with the farmers who grow our food. Exposing your children to those relationships makes them feel like part of a community, she said. She mentioned several farmer’s markets available seasonally in Salisbury — the Salisbury Farmer’s Market and one at the hospital. She also mentioned the Bread Riot, a community group that has formed buying relationships with local producers to support local production. Dr. Chris Magryta spoke on the relationship of food and disease, and how making positive changes in the way we eat can forestall or prevent the onset of many diseases. He pointed out that grass-fed beef, which contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids, is preferable to grain-fed beef, which contains the kind of fat that can cause an inflammatory response in our bodies. Lee Menius, owner of Wild Turkey Farms, spoke of promoting a different way to farm, and of the need to help farmers transition from the old way of doing things to a more sustainable model. “Markets need to be in place,” he said. He also spoke of the loss of the infrastructure to support sustainable farming — for example, he has to drive miles in order to find a plant that will process his meat.

Libby Post, who is head of cafeteria services in the local schools, talked about changes being made in the schools, including more fresh vegetables offered, with an emphasis on locally and regionally produced produce when feasible.

Dr. John Wear, executive director of the Center for the Environment, pointed out that the center will be offering spring and summer workshops on creating community gardens, as well as planning, planting, harvesting and preserving food. A reception at the event included food provided by Bame Farms, Poplin Farms, Laughing Owl Farm, Goat Lady Dairy, New Moon Organics, Fisher Farm and the Bread Basket. For more information on how to support local food producers, go to www.breadriot.org.

To learn more about Wild Turkey Farms, go to www.wildturkeyfarms. For information regarding Catawba College’s Center for the Environment and its upcoming programs, go to www.centerfortheenvironment.org.

How can you care for the plants and save precious fresh water-by capturing water in a rain barrel.  This helps the environment and also save money.  You can buy a rain barrel or you can:

Make a Rain Barrel to Save Water

Save money — and moisture — this season by collecting rainwater.

Why Make a Rain Barrel

Using a rain barrel can save you a significant amount of money in a season. For each inch of rain that falls on 500 square feet of roof, you can collect 300 gallons of water. In most areas of North America, that means you can collect more than a thousand gallons of water a year to use in your containers, houseplants, garden, or even your lawn. We’ll show you how to make your own inexpensive rain barrel in just a couple of hours.

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/yard/tools/make-a-rain-barrel-save-water/

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