Websites:
An Effort to Eradicate Hunger in Africa by empowering Farmers through Sustainable Agriculture.
Promoting the practice and understanding of the Biodynamic system of sustainable agriculture.
When Food Alliance talks about “sustainable agriculture,” they mean the ability to produce safe, healthy, delicious, and affordable food to meet diverse needs without degrading agricultural lands, the quality of life in our communities, or the resiliency of the broader ecosystems on which everyone depends on.
Food Alliance offers the most comprehensive certification program for sustainably produced food in North America. They cover the issues that matter to Americans, including safe and fair working conditions, humane treatment of animals, and protection of the environment.
Food Alliance certification is backed by a rigorous and independent third-party inspection to our standards.
Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program at Virginia Tech
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is an alliance of grassroots organizations that advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities.
NSAC’s vision of agriculture is one where a safe, nutritious, ample, and affordable food supply is produced by a legion of family farmers who make a decent living pursuing their trade, while protecting the environment, and contributing to the strength and stability of their communities.
The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform is the main food industry initiative supporting the development of sustainable agriculture worldwide.
Food industries are the biggest purchasers of agricultural raw materials. In order to rely on a constant, increasing and safe supply of agricultural raw materials, these must be grown in a sustainable manner. In 2002 Nestlé, Unilever and Danone created the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, a non-profit organization to facilitate sharing, at precompetitive level, of knowledge and initiatives to support the development and implementation of sustainable agriculture practices involving the different stakeholders of the food chain.
The Organic Consumers Association was formed in 1998 in the wake of the mass backlash by organic consumers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's controversial proposed national regulations for organic food. Through the OCA's SOS (Safeguard Organic Standards) Campaign, as well as the work of their allies in other organizations, the organic community over the last eight years has been able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of consumers to pressure the USDA and organic companies to preserve strict organic standards. In its public education, network building, and mobilization activities such as its Breaking the Chains campaign, OCA works with a broad range of public interest organizations to challenge industrial agriculture, corporate globalization, and the Wal-Martization of the economy, and inspire consumers to "Buy Local, Organic, and Fair Made."
USDA’s National Organic Program:
Their Vision:
Organic Integrity from Farm to Table,
Consumers Trust the Organic Label.
Their Mission:
Ensuring the integrity of USDA organic products in the United States and throughout the world.
Summary:
The NOP is a marketing program housed within the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. We are responsible for developing national standards for organically-produced agricultural products. These standards assure consumers that products with the USDA organic seal meet consistent, uniform standards. Our regulations do not address food safety or nutrition.
World Health Organization. (Promoting fruit and vegetable consumption around the world)
Fruit and vegetables are important components of a healthy diet, and their sufficient daily consumption could help prevent major diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. Approximately 16.0 million (1.0%) disability adjusted life years (DALYs, a measure of the potential life lost due to premature mortality and the years of productive life lost due to disability) and 1.7 million (2.8%) of deaths worldwide are attributable to low fruit and vegetable consumption.
Moreover, insufficient intake of fruit and vegetables is estimated to cause around 14% of gastrointestinal cancer deaths, about 11% of ischaemic heart disease deaths and about 9% of stroke deaths globally.
Articles and Magazines:
Whole Foods Talks Sustainability at Conference (Oct. 22 20110, The Gourmet Retailer Magazine)
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) opened the final day of its 2011 Retail Sustainability Conference Friday with a powerful mission-driven presentation from Walter Robb, co-chief executive officer of Whole Foods Market.
Robb shared the unique company culture that makes up Whole Food’s core values and how the company lives the three elements of its mission: Whole Foods – Whole People – Whole Planet. He also addressed how Whole Foods is leading the charge to supply chain transparency and visibility, how customers and suppliers are adapting and changing to that new level of responsibility, and how customer perceptions of green and natural products have changed with the economic climate of the past several years.
Books:
-Alison Blay-Palmer, Food fears: from industrial to sustainable food systems, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008
The industrial food system of the West is increasingly perceived as problematic. The physical, social and intellectual distance between consumers and their food stems from a food system that privileges quantity and efficiency over quality, with an underlying assumption that food is a commodity, rather than a source of nourishment and pleasure. In the wake of various food and health scares, there is a growing demand from consumers to change the food they eat, which in turn acts as a catalyst for the industry to adapt and for alternative systems to evolve. Drawing on a wealth of empirical research into mainstream and alternative North American food systems, this book argues that sustainable, grass roots, local food systems offer a template for meaningful individual activism as a way to bring about change from the bottom up, while at the same time creating pressure for policy changes at all levels of government. This movement signals a shift away from market economy principles and reflects a desire to embody social and ecological values as the foundation for future growth.
-Elise McDonough, Sustainable Food: How to Buy Right and Spend Less, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2009
This book helps the average shopper navigate the choices, whether strolling the aisles of a modern supermarket or foraging at a local farmers market. This down-to-earth, casual guide answers these and other questions for the shopper: What are the differences among organic, local, fair-trade, free-range, naturally raised, and biodynamic foods? How affordable is it to subscribe to a CSA farm--and what are the advantages? Is it better to choose wild Alaskan salmon at $18.99, or the Chilean farmed fish at $11.99? What cooking oils can be sustainably sourced? How can a food co-op increase access to, and affordability of, healthier, Earth-friendly foods? Where can you find sustainably produced sugar, and are there any local replacements for sweeteners from faraway lands? What do the distinctions between shade-grown and trellised coffee mean? Is shark okay to eat? How about mackerel? Why is the war on plastic bags so important? Sustainable eating just got easier.
This is the most widely used introductory nutrition text used by students from around the world. It also guides the reader in applying the most current nutrition research and show the relevance to your own life.
- Darwin C. Hall, L. Joe Moffitt, Carolyn Harper, Economics of pesticides, sustainable food production and organic food markets, Elsevier, 2002
Economic assessment of sustainable agricultural practices has continued to mature and to add to our understanding of how we might design policies to ensure an adequate and diverse food supply. This volume presents some of the recent developments and applications in this field and is much more nearly self-contained than typical edited volumes. It provides a comprehensive treatment of topics, including a historical perspective leading to current developments in methods and policy. The introductory chapter presents an early history of research by entomologists and economists, tracing the concept of integrated pest management, the nascent organic food industry, and reviewing pesticide policy options debated over the last several decades.
