10. Grocery - imported foods

• Ultimate Goal: Fair Trade/improved labor conditions, minimally processed, and certified sustainable (Food Alliance).
• First priority: Fair Trade/improved labor conditions
• Next priority: minimally processed or certified organic

RATIONALE FOR THESE PRIORITIES

Hormone and antibiotic free: By choosing milk, dairy, eggs, chickens, and other meats produced without antibiotics or artificial hormones, we eliminate a major source for antibiotic resistance within the food supply and protect human health against potential endocrine disruption. In addition to promoting food safety, the elimination of routine antibiotic treatment within the dairy, poultry, and livestock industries can lead to more humane treatment of these animals. For example, without routine antibiotic treatment, animals require more living space and must be housed in cleaner facilities. This raises the bar for industrial practices, favors smaller production units, and sets a consumer-based standard for expectations of quality and safety.

Grass fed (pasture raised)meats:Medical studies have determined that increased consumption of saturated fats increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Recent research has found the conventional grain-based animal diets responsible for producing meat with higher levels of these fats. Pasture-raised meats and dairy show significantly lower levels of total and saturated fats and higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids found to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and hypertension. While a meat-free diet may remain attractive for various reasons (and reduces greenhouse gas emissions), it is increasingly clear that a diet of moderate amounts of pasture-raised meat is consistent with health recommendations. Production of grass fed meats can also contribute to reduced environmental harms from erosion and groundwater contamination.

Georgia grown and regionally grown:Locally grown food offers fresher, tastier food and often reduces the use of fossil fuel for transport, thereby lowering Emory's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and to the depletion of non-renewable resources. Our goals for local and regional food support a vibrant Southern economy, preserve open space and agricultural landscapes, provide easier access for direct relationships with farmers, and help preserve the regional farming culture. A survey of 110 Farm-to-College programs by the Community Food Security Coalition (2007) shows that nearly half choose 50-200 miles as their target radius for "local" food. Another 20% choose "state-wide" and 10% choose their region. In making our decision to prioritize "Georgia grown," we considered a common standard for "local food" of "a day's drive" which is often translated as 200 miles (400 miles round trip). For Atlanta, a 200-mile radius covers almost all of south Georgia, and reaches to Columbia (South Carolina), Asheville (North Carolina), Knoxville (Tennessee), and to Birmingham and Montgomery (Alabama). We found it unreasonable to try to prioritize food from one half of North or South Carolina or sections of other adjacent states. We therefore decided to give highest priority to Georgia farmers, where we hope to develop relationships with known producers. As products become available, we hope to buy more of our food from areas close to Emory.

However, recognizing the limits of the Georgia growing season, we agreed a second priority is our 8-state region of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi. Our decision to prefer foods in this region - as opposed to organic produce from California or Mexico - speaks to our concern for environmental issues, but also to our desire to support the rural economy of Georgia and the preservation of farming traditions. By prioritizing the 8-state area, we can also focus on partnerships with under-served areas of the region, and look for opportunities to buy from cooperatives of minority farmers. Our hope is, of course, that sustainably certified food will soon be widely available from our region.

Certified organic: Certified organic (USDA standards) milk, dairy, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and chickens offer the assurance that environmental harms have been minimized through prohibitions on many pesticides, on genetically-modified food varieties, and chemical fertilizers. Though these foods often travel long distances, the health benefits to farmers, farm workers and farm ecosystems makes this option an important step toward a more sustainable food system. http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOP/indexIE.htm

Certified sustainable: (Food Alliance standards) goes beyond the USDA checklist approach to organic certification and offers assurance of sustainable management practices at the whole-farm level. Certified farms demonstrate attention to management practices that improve soil quality, reduce chemical use, improve crop rotations, maintain biodiversity in soil, seeds, and natural habitats on the whole farm, protect water quality, conserve energy, manage waste, provide safe and fair working conditions and worker pay, and assure the humane treatment of animals. Farmer goals for continuous improvement are part of Food Alliance certification.

Humanely Raised and Handled: (Humane Animal Farm Care, begun 2003) certifies farms that raise animals without antibiotics or added hormones and allow them to engage in natural behaviors with sufficient space, shelter and appropriate handling to limit stress. Animal production methods keep the welfare of the farm animal in mind and are inspected for precise, objective standards for farm animal treatment. Certification for Free Farmed (American Humane Association, begun 2000) assures that animals are raised cage-free, also in a humane manner. http://www.certifiedhumane.org. http://www.americanhumane.org.

Seafood: Fish and seafood concerns include health risks from the bioaccumulation of mercury, environmental impacts of aqualculture, bycatch that harms unintended species, and overfishing of populations at risk. Three groups have stepped forward in recent years to help ascertain sustainable fisheries. The Monterey Bay Aquarium researches regional species whose fisheries generally fall in line with sustainable practices under its Seafood Watch program. Within the Seafood Watch "best choices" and "good alternatives" for the Southeast are a suitable range of wild and farmed species that will allow Emory to support responsible fishing and safe consumption. http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp.

A second group, the Marine Stewardship Council, certifies particular fisheries that are being harvested on a sustainable basis and includes health criteria in their ratings, but do not include farmed seafood. Only a small number of species are now certified, and limiting Emory's purchases to only those species would be difficult. Therefore, we recommend that a preference for MSC certification is desirable when we choose those species http://www.msc.org. The newest sustainable fisheries group, Sustainable Seafood Forum, highlights path-breaking seafood producers concerned with the health and well being of their employees as well as their impact upon the environment. These fishers at present are too few in number and their products too expensive to adopt as an Emory goal, but that may change in the future. http://fn.cfs.purdue.edu/fish4health/Walletcard/walletcard.htm.

Fair Trade certified products guarantee improved labor conditions and higher pay in plantation agriculture and among producer cooperatives in developing (and some developed) countries. Fair trade certified producers must support local economic development efforts, democratic processes, and direct relations between buyers and sellers. http://transfairusa.org.

Minimally processed foods avoid the loss of nutrient value, introduction of trans-fats, added salt, sugars, corn syrup, and chemical additives, and the high energy costs associated with many processed products. Among other issues, we considered evidence that energy dense, high fat, and low fiber foods may override human satiety mechanisms and thereby contribute to our society's growing problem with obesity. Our priority on minimally-processed foods will help support a healthier diet for the Emory community.



Speaker Series
September 20 - Barbara Kingsolver and Steven Hopp, speaking on their new book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. 7 pm - Glenn Memorial Church.

Barbara Kingsolvers's published books include fively widely acclaimed novels as well as collections of short stories, poetry, an oral history, and two essay collections. Her first novel, The Bean Trees, has been adopted into the core English literature curriculum in colleges throughout the country, and her highly praised, The Poisonwood Bible, won literary awards at home and abroad. Her latest novel, Prodigal Summer, was published in 2000. Kingsolver's work has appeared in numerous literary anthologies and periodicals, for which she regularly writes reviews and articles on a wide range of topics, particulary in the areas of social justice and the environment. Her books have been translated and published throughout the world in nineteen languages. In 2000, Kingsolver was the recipient of the National Humanities Medal, our nation's highest award for service through the arts.

November 14, 2007, 3:30 pm - Alice Waters, executive chef and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, and leader of the revolution in American cuisine, will speak on her new book (The Art of Simple Foods: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution, Random House), connecting school gardens, healthy eating, and the return to civility. Co-sponsored with the Centers for Disease Control, Global Communications Center, CDC Auditorium, 1600 Clifton Road, NE.


Why Food Gardens? Food gardens in the Emory landscape teach about food and seasonality. They remind us that eating locally reduces fossil fuel use and addresses global warming.  Local food reduces the estimated 1700 miles that the average piece of food travels before it reaches our plate.  Campus gardens can also offer locales of respite and stillness, spaces to withdraw from the ordinary round of academic life.  They foster an awareness of seasons and the bioregion of which we are a part.  On many of our peer campuses, food gardens offer meaningful work that increases student (and staff and faculty) attachment to place.  In addition, they can support learning about ethnic traditions and crops from around the world.  A garden brings home the rhythms of nature and an emerging identity as citizens of this place, this region, this land.  While we expect the total quantity of food produced to be minor, the proposed gardens and farm will be part of our growing sense of what it means to live sustainably.

Phase I (Spring, 2007):  
We began with 3 small plots around the main Emory campus that hightlight food and flowers in ecological companion plantings. Teams of students, staff, faculty, and community members maintain each garden and keep a log of activities as we experiment with varieties, micro-climate, attractiveness, and educational impact.  
 
The three current sites are:

• In front of the Depot
• Along Rollins Walkway
• Next to the Cox Hall Ravine and bridge