Food and Agriculture

A healthy, sustainable lifestyle is driven by choices about food. Making such choices involves answering questions about how our food is grown and how that growing process affects the environment, as well as who grows our food and how far our food travels.

The Living Green Expo offers insights into the importance of locally grown food, food choices that are better for human health, and ways of raising food that are less costly to the environment.

The challenges of food and agriculture

Over the past 100 years, the food system in the United States has become increasingly centralized and sometimes difficult to negotiate for people interested in living a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. We appear well off – food prices are low and supermarket shelves are bursting; but upon closer inspection this bounty may reveal potentially risky food additives, use of consumer psychology by marketers, and hidden costs to our health, environment, and future.

Today, most people are further removed from our food than ever before. Labeling laws lag behind demands of informed consumers, and it can feel daunting to begin thinking about options that are healthy and ethical. There are many issues worthy of considering when trying to make choices about safe and healthy foods. You can start in your own kitchen by examining the labels on the foods you purchase; you may want visit your local farmer’s market, food co-op or natural foods store with questions in mind, or visit one of the web sites listed below.

Ten Things You Can Do

1. Support local, sustainable, and organic farmers by purchasing their products directly or through farmer’s markets, community supported agriculture farms (CSAs), food co-ops, natural food stores, local grocers, etc.
2. Eat in-season foods to reduce the amount of miles your food has traveled.
3. Encourage crop diversity on our farms by seeking out seasonal varieties and local specialties.
4. Make the most of your interactions with farmers by talking to them about their products and growing practices—get engaged, ask questions, and tell them what you think!
5. Patronize restaurants that buy from local farmers and serve healthy environmentally-friendly food—bring your own container for leftovers.
6. Buy bulk foods and reuse your bags to reduce packaging waste and save money – seek out recycled or recyclable packaging.
7. Find substitutes for foods that are environmentally costly—buy hemp products, substitute honey for sugar, avoid endangered fish, and diversify animal protein with plant protein.
8. Compost kitchen scraps and appropriate paper products—you can also reduce your kitchen waste by waiting to purchase produce until you are ready to use it.
9. Prepare meals from scratch using fresh or raw ingredients rather than relying on convenience food, which may include harmful preservatives, dyes, and low-quality ingredients.
10. Understand key terms like organic, fair trade, free-range, grass-fed, and natural. The greater your understanding of issues like pesticide use, the cost of food transportation, and food labeling laws, the better able you are to make choices that reflect your values and allow you to vote with your dollar.
    

More Food and Agriculture Learning Resources

• The Twin Cities’ Blue Sky Guide is a book full of information and coupons that promote healthy living. In addition to valuable coupons for organic and local food, it also contains a new dining guide with information about restaurants that work with local farmers and offer sustainable menu options.
• Eat Well Guide helps you search by zip code for producers, restaurants, co-ops, etc. that carry sustainable foods (with an emphasis on animal products). The web site includes a resources section that provides a nice introduction to sustainability and simple actions you can take.
• Edible Twin Cities celebrates the abundance of local foods, season by season.
• Green Routes is an easy-to-use online tool to help you find one-of-a-kind places to eat throughout Greater Minnesota. The website also identifies unique places to play, shop, sleep, and learn—places where the owners are committed to using principles of sustainability in managing their enterprises.
• Choose restaurants that display the Heartland Food Network logo. These establishments and participating distributors actively support local farmers and communities by purchasing local foods.
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy. They are a valuable source for information about agricultural issues in Minnesota and abroad.
• The Land Stewardship Project works to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture, and to develop sustainable communities. Their web site and e-newsletter provide detailed information about food and farming in Minnesota.
• Local Harvest is a wonderful online way to find farmers, farmer’s markets, co-ops, restaurants, and more in your area. It provides information about buying local, and serves as a nationwide directory for local goods.
• The Minneapolis Farmer's Market website gives detailed information about the history of the market, hours and parking, vendors at the market, and fruits and vegetables in season.
• Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) is a nonprofit membership-based organization that works to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life of family farmers and ranchers and rural communities. Membership is open to farmers and nonfarmers.
• Minnesota Grown is a public/private partnership including more than 800 member producers. Their web site and Minnesota Grown Directory provide the most comprehensive list of direct-marketed local agricultural products in this state. The free guide is available online or by mail by calling 1-800-657-3878 or 651-297-8695.
• The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) has a mission to foster connections between the sustainable agriculture community and the University of Minnesota. MISA's website includes links to local food directories, informative publications about local food, and staff members who can answer questions and help people make connections with researchers.
• Organic Consumers Association offers a vast collection of articles, events, action alerts, and all the latest issues involving organic foods. You can find information on everything from mad cow disease to school food campaigns. Their e-newsletter is a great way to stay abreast of food in the news.
• Renewing the Countryside profiles innovative examples of small food makers, farmers, and other rural entrepreneurs across the country. You will find links to local food resources, an online store for buying local foods publications, and a hundreds of inspirational stories from across the country of rural revitalization.
• St. Paul Farmer’s Market has a wonderful web site. You can find information about products and producers at the market, market hours and parking, recipes, special events, and other market news. If you’ve never been to a farmer’s market before, this web site can help you get your feet wet and know what to expect.
• Check out the Twin Cities Green Guide for a listing of area co-ops.
• NextStep Agriculture web site provides a starting point for those interested in learning more about sustainable agriculture.