the environmental sustainability in food products, it would influence the choices they make. That, my friends, is part of the goals of this chapter and this book — to help you understand the bigger picture.
Using natural resources efficiently
An environmentalist may see the environment as separate from humanity. However, farmers consider themselves stewards of the environment as they protect their land while producing food for people to eat.
While many people have a romantic image of who a farmer is, the reality is that today’s farmers have a broad understanding of natural resources, the biogeochemical nature of the earth, and the integrity of the biosphere. In other words, they’re scientists!
Modern farmers understand that a sustainable food system must remain within the planetary boundaries without irreversible impacts to the ecological systems. Even though the resources utilized to grow and produce food are sometimes under scrutiny, ultimately farmers are working toward increased production while using fewer resources (less land and water).
Regenerative agriculture is a relatively new term used to describe a holistic, principles-based approach to farming and ranching that focuses on the health of the ecological system, not just the production of crops or food. It may include a plan for cow grazing to restore pastures and grasslands. When animals graze, they add nutrients back into the soil, helping capture the carbon released. You may find a lot of different commentary surrounding this term; however, some of the practices used in regenerative ag aren’t new. Many U.S. farms have adopted processes that support this idea over the years, including no-till farming and utilization of cover crops. By limited or non-tilling of land, a farmer can maintain a more nutrient-rich soil. Planting cover crops helps maintain soil erosion and build organic matter.
Feeding the world
The economist understands sustainability to mean there are finite resources and income to generate enough food for human consumption. This should cue us that it’s important for nations to consider ways to transition to more viable food systems and encourage consumers to change some of our personal habits. As the saying goes, you can’t keep repeating the same actions and expect a different result. Working toward a more sustainable food system could require reducing the overall demand of food and a shift in resources. I mean, how many flavors of potato chips do we really need?
Many scientists, economists, and industries are working toward improving agricultural systems globally. For instance, the World Economic Forum was established in 1971 as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, to help shape global, regional, and industry agendas. Improving global sustainability in agricultural practices is part of their mission. They believe it will be vital to adopt technology, use more data to drive outputs, and recruit many more young people to the farming profession.
Other sustainability options include finding new ways to grow or create food in environments outside of the farm. While the idea of “lab food” may not feel comfortable, innovators are discovering amazing ways to conserve resources and make something out of almost nothing (see the later section “Upcycling”).
Considering Conservation along the Food Supply Chain
If you picked this book up, you likely care about the environment. While this book’s focus is on reducing your personal food waste at home, it’s useful to step back to look at the big picture. What do we know about food and the environment? How are farmers and industry helping to conserve? Individuals and groups are working in multiple ways to produce adequate food, control the use of natural resources, and reduce waste across the food supply chain. This section covers a few of those ways.
Ecological management of pests
Imagine spending hundreds of hours preparing the land and planting crops across hundreds of acres. Then imagine losing all of that crop to bugs. To the farmer, this means a huge loss of time, income, and resources. To the consumer, it can mean higher prices at the grocery store or shortages of certain foods or ingredients.
Agroecology is the study of the relation of agricultural crops and the environment. Farmers are applying ecological principles to pest management. This is a win-win situation because it ensures high productivity while causing no harm to the environment. The word pesticide may conjure up devilish images of chemicals and evil, but in reality, responsible pesticide use actually helps the environment.
The media shares a lot of information about pesticides, their use, and their toxicity levels. Those used by both conventional and organic farmers are safe when applied appropriately. The miniscule “residues” that are sometimes left behind have no proven adverse effects on human health. Also, herbicides are a specific type of pesticide designed to kill specific weeds. Pesticide is the broader term of a chemical designed to kill weeds, insects, fungus, larvae, or bacteria. Farmers are motivated to use minimal amounts of pesticides because they’re both expensive and time-consuming to apply.
PESTICIDES: THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a popular nonprofit activist organization with a $12 million budget, heavily supported by the organic industry. A majority of toxicologists believe that the EWG overstates the health risks of chemicals.
Each year, the EWG publishes a “Dirty Dozen” list, warning consumers about consuming certain fruits and vegetables because of pesticide residue. However, their testing is done only on conventionally grown produce and doesn’t test USDA Certified Organic produce (which allows an approved list of natural pesticides, but not synthetic ones). They also don’t communicate the context of the residues, measured in parts per million (a part per million can be visualized as a single grain of sugar among 273 sugar cubes). Every chemical has a predetermined safe level of application. The pesticide residues found by the EWG are nowhere near a hazardous tolerance level according to the U.S. standards (No Observable Adverse Effect Level, or NOAEL, is the scale in which the highest tolerable level of a pesticide where no adverse effect is identified).
Pasture management, cover crops, soil conservation, and quality
Farmers use a lot of strategies to reach production and conservation goals. Every farmer manages their land differently depending on its geography. Careful consideration about the application of nutrients determines the health of the soil and overall production. Many farms have a “no till” or minimal tillage philosophy. Soil type and climate determine the type of tillage strategy. The less tillage, the less water erosion, and more carbon storage (which helps offset greenhouse gas emissions). Cover crops, planted after row crops are harvested, help with soil conservation as well as natural pest management. Crop rotation