The Ever Changing Food Supply1. How can we make our diets more environmentally sustainable? In what ways would improving the nutritional adequacy of our diet also make it more environmentally sustainable? - More Sustainable: Organic, and Locally Grown- Nutritional adequacy: Less processed foods means better quality intake and less environment impact (fuel emissions…etc)o In the US, the food industry uses 20% of the nation’s fuels to run farm machinery and produce fertilizers and pesticides, and to prepare, package, transport, refrigerate, and otherwise store, cook and wash our foods. 2. What are the requirements of the USDA Certified Organic designation? Are organic foods 100% free of pesticides? Why or why not? Are organic foods more nutritious than conventional foods? What are some ways that people can reduce the amount of pesticides that they consume besides eating only organic foods? - Prohibits use of toxic and persistent chemicals in favor of more earth friendly practiceso Crop rotationo Planting cover cropso Releasing beneficial insectso Adding composted manure- Field must be free of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers for 3 years before a certified organic crop can be grown on it- Use of proper manure-composting techniques to prevent against food-borne illness- Organic eggs, meats and dairy products must be from animals that are given 100% organic feed, forbids severe confinement- No antibiotics or growth hormones3. What are the requirements for a manufacturer to use the terms, “100% organic”, “organic” and “made with organic ingredients” on their package labels? - %100 Organic: Must only contain organically produced ingredients- Organic: Must consist of at least %95 organically produced ingredients- Made with Organic Ingredients: Must contain at least %70 organic ingredients4. What are some reasons that people choose organic foods? - Damage to soil, water and air from conventional farming –more sustainable- Health consequences of pesticides in food and the environment- Concern about genetically modified foods5. Are the pesticide residues on foods likely to be harmful to human health? Why or why not? Are there pesticides allow in organic farming? What government organization sets standards for allowable amounts of pesticide residues on foods? What government agency monitors the food supply to ensure that pesticide residues on foods do not exceed the allowable amount? - Not likely to be harmful to health…o Limits generally represent between 1/100 to 1/1,000 of the reference dose found to cause no adverse health effects in laboratory animals.- Organic foods may not be 100% free of pesticides- Evaluated by FDA, below established tolerance levels set by EPA in most cases6. What are some sustainable agriculture methods that are not required by the USDA Organic Certification program? - Cultivating bird populations- Planting plants to attract beneficial insects- Use of no pesticides, not even those “natural” pesticides allowed in organic farming- Solar power- Gathering rain water7. What is the difference between organic food and local food? What are some of the benefits of buying local foods? - Organico Organic foods may still travel great distances to reach the consumero Organic food may be grown on large industrial farmso Concern about fuel utilized to produce and transport foodso Concern about disappearance or small farmers- Local o May be organic but not certified, in many cased even more environmentally sound than organico Fresher, may taste bettero Nutrient content may be highero Support local economyo Farmer’s markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), some large stores selllocally grown produce8. What is community-supported agriculture? - When consumers invest in economic partnerships with local farmers9. What is biotechnology/genetic engineering? What are the uses of biotechnology? What is a transgenic or GM crop? What are some of the crops in the US that are grown usingbiotechnology? - Whato Involves the direct, intentional manipulation of the genetic material of living things in order to obtain some desirable trait not present in the original organism, also called recombinant DNA technologyo Used to involve the combination or all genetic material of two organismso Now we can isolate the gene for a specific characteristic and insert it into the DNA of another organism.- Useso Improve the production and yield of many foodso Make foods more pest, climate resistant, bacteriao Increase self-lifeo Decrease costo Improve nutritional content of foodso Enhance tasteo Breed animals with desired characteristicso Production of drugs- Transgenic or Genetically Modifiedo Transgenic Plants contain a gene (or genes) that have been genetically inserted instead of the plant acquiring them through pollination…may originate from another plant or bacteriao Plants containing trans-genes are often called genetically modified- Most Popular Modified Cropso Soybeans and Cottono Insect-resistant Cotton and Corn10. What are some concerns about biotechnology? What is outcrossing? Why doesn’t the FDA require that products using biotechnology be labeled as such? - Concernso Outcrossing; Disruption of natural ecosystems; newly created diseases; weapons; animal cruelty; allergies; economic impacts- Outcrossingo Male organs cannot fertilize the female parts of the same plant- Labelingo Whole foods produced through biotechnology require no specific safety testing orlabeling if they are not substantially different from the foods already in useo If food differs significantly, must undergo safety testing11. Why is bovine growth hormone used? Why don’t humans absorb active bovine growth hormone? Is all milk in the US from cows that are treated with bovine growth hormone? Can organic milk be labeled as “bovine growth hormone free”? Why or why not? - Whyo Increases milk production- Human’s Don’t Absorb Ito No active growth hormone remains in milk- All Milk from rBGH Treated Cows?o No…there is organic milko Organic milk cannot say “Bovine Growth Hormone Free” because cows produce growth hormone12. What is cloning? Does the FDA require labeling of products from clones or their offspring? - No. FDA deems meat and milk from clones and their offspring as safe as that from conventional animals13. What is food irradiation? For which foods is it approved in the US? Is labeling of irradiated foods required? Does irradiation make the food 100% free from bacteria?
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