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Food Sustainability

   Sandhya Prakash
     Founder-Director MEVEG
Sustainability
      Balance
economic     human       environmental
 growth    development    protection.
Sustainable foods don’t need
labels because they…
• are real foods that our bodies were designed
  to eat.
• are healthy for us, the soil, and the animals.
• do not harm the environment.
• are humane for both the workers and the
  animals.
• provide a fair wage to the farmer without the
  use of government subsidies.
• support the local economy instead of large
  corporations.
• Sustainable food is what people ate for
  thousands of years, up until 20th century.
In the UAE
• Most of the food found in the
  grocery store is the product of an
  unsustainable food system.
• This food is dependent on foreign
  oil, is destroying soil, contaminates
  water, has caused disease
  outbreaks, and may be robbing our
  grandchildren of the ability to grow
  food at all.
The problem
• The problem is that we are separated
  from the origins of our food. So while
  we may realize that buying organic is
  important, organic is now just as
  industrialized as conventional foods.
• You may wonder what little old you
  can do about all of this.
• More than you think.
Cause of problems
• Animal products are increasingly raised
  purely for profit, without regard to
  proper stewardship or health.
• We are monocropping, and the
  government is subsidizing it.
• Food is transported and processed
  using large amounts of non-renewable
  resources.
• Food is being genetically
  modified, cloned, and patented.
Vote With Your Food Dollars

• Every dollar spent at a farmer’s
  market is one less dollar
  supporting the industrialized food
  system.
• Every piece of food grown in your
  own backyard becomes a symbol
  of freedom.
Wield the Power
• Consumers hold a lot of power, but I
  believe that to stop being a consumer is
  even more powerful.
• Choosing not to support the industrial food
  system is the beginning of sustainable
  eating.
Tips to living sustainably
1. Learn to cook
2. Eat Locally
3. Eat Seasonally
4. Preserve the Harvest
5. Grow Something…just anything
6. Give Up Store Bought Convenience
   Foods and Make Your Own.
7. Buy Fair-Trade
8. Know The Cost of Cheap Food.
Suggested
                   Reading


Suggested Doing
Suggested
 Reading
Suggested
 Reading
Suggested
 Reading
Story of Birke
• 12 yr old - food fighter
• Sustainable organic agriculturist
• One kid at a time
• Gets his hands dirty on chemical free
  farms
• growing his own vegetables, checking out
  local farmers markets and farms
• civil war history and
  reenactment, reading, writing, doing
  research, traveling with his family and
  spending time with his self proclaimed best
  friend, his 77 year old Grandfather.
Eating mindfully may take a bit more
effort, but the rewards – for your family
and their future – are too big to pass up.
Curb Wastage
Curb Wastage
Convert Wastage to Compost
Suggested Doing
Imagine a city that produces
  its own food, energy and
           goods.

This vision of sustainability
     is possible with a
  definition, a plan and a
 system of accountability.
Food sustainability

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Food sustainability

  • 1. Food Sustainability Sandhya Prakash Founder-Director MEVEG
  • 2. Sustainability Balance economic human environmental growth development protection.
  • 3. Sustainable foods don’t need labels because they… • are real foods that our bodies were designed to eat. • are healthy for us, the soil, and the animals. • do not harm the environment. • are humane for both the workers and the animals. • provide a fair wage to the farmer without the use of government subsidies. • support the local economy instead of large corporations. • Sustainable food is what people ate for thousands of years, up until 20th century.
  • 4.
  • 5.
  • 6.
  • 7.
  • 8.
  • 9.
  • 10.
  • 11. In the UAE • Most of the food found in the grocery store is the product of an unsustainable food system. • This food is dependent on foreign oil, is destroying soil, contaminates water, has caused disease outbreaks, and may be robbing our grandchildren of the ability to grow food at all.
  • 12. The problem • The problem is that we are separated from the origins of our food. So while we may realize that buying organic is important, organic is now just as industrialized as conventional foods. • You may wonder what little old you can do about all of this. • More than you think.
  • 13. Cause of problems • Animal products are increasingly raised purely for profit, without regard to proper stewardship or health. • We are monocropping, and the government is subsidizing it. • Food is transported and processed using large amounts of non-renewable resources. • Food is being genetically modified, cloned, and patented.
  • 14. Vote With Your Food Dollars • Every dollar spent at a farmer’s market is one less dollar supporting the industrialized food system. • Every piece of food grown in your own backyard becomes a symbol of freedom.
  • 15. Wield the Power • Consumers hold a lot of power, but I believe that to stop being a consumer is even more powerful. • Choosing not to support the industrial food system is the beginning of sustainable eating.
  • 16.
  • 17. Tips to living sustainably 1. Learn to cook 2. Eat Locally 3. Eat Seasonally 4. Preserve the Harvest 5. Grow Something…just anything 6. Give Up Store Bought Convenience Foods and Make Your Own. 7. Buy Fair-Trade 8. Know The Cost of Cheap Food.
  • 18. Suggested Reading Suggested Doing
  • 22. Story of Birke • 12 yr old - food fighter • Sustainable organic agriculturist • One kid at a time • Gets his hands dirty on chemical free farms • growing his own vegetables, checking out local farmers markets and farms • civil war history and reenactment, reading, writing, doing research, traveling with his family and spending time with his self proclaimed best friend, his 77 year old Grandfather.
  • 23. Eating mindfully may take a bit more effort, but the rewards – for your family and their future – are too big to pass up.
  • 28.
  • 29. Imagine a city that produces its own food, energy and goods. This vision of sustainability is possible with a definition, a plan and a system of accountability.

Notas do Editor

  1. Most of the food found in the grocery store is the product of an unsustainable food system.This food is dependent on foreign oil, is destroying soil, contaminates water, has caused disease outbreaks, and may be robbing our grandchildren of the ability to grow food at all.
  2. The problem is that we are separated from the origins of our food. So while we may realize that buying organic is important, organic is now just as industrialized as conventional foods.You may wonder what little old you can do about all of this.More than you think.
  3. Animal products are increasingly raised purely for profit, without regard to proper stewardship or health.We are monocropping, and the government is subsidizing it.Food is transported and processed using large amounts of non-renewable resources.Food is being genetically modified, cloned, and patented.
  4. consumers hold a lot of power, but I believe that to stop being a consumer is even more powerful. Choosing not to support the industrial food system is the beginning of sustainable eating.
  5. 10 Tips For Sustainable EatingMy journey to sustainable eating hasn’t been easy, and it certainly isn’t over. Here are ten steps that we have taken to become mindful eaters.1. Learn to Cook.Without basic cooking knowledge, none of this is possible. Learning to cook your favorite foods using local ingredients can really make all the difference.2. Eat Locally.If you care about delicious food, health eating, proper stewardship of the planet, and supporting your local economy then you must source out local ingredients.3. Eat Seasonally.This goes hand-in-hand with eating locally. Eat root vegetables and hearty greens in the fall and winter. Eat salads, fruit, and tomatoes in the summer. Even milk and eggs are more abundant during certain times of the year.4. Preserve the Harvest.If you eat locally or seasonally then you’ll have to learn to preserve the harvest. Try canning, dehydrating, freezing, and lacto-fermentation. Look to Simple Bites for a helpful how-to series later in the season.Photo by llsimon535. Grow Something… Anything.Start with herbs or lettuce. Radishes are really fast and fairly simple. Even if you rent you can create a container garden. Once you catch the gardening bug you will just want to grow more. Simple Organic had a great article for beginning gardeners.Give Up Store Bought Convenience Foods and Make Your Own.10. Be Willing To Give Up Convenience.This may be the hardest part of changing the way you eat. On the other hand, it forces you to simplify your food in a way that promotes health and flavor. The simple truth is sustainable food does not outsource it’s preparation.Eating mindfully may take a bit more effort, but the rewards – for your family and their future – are too big to pass up.You can make your own taco seasoning, yogurt, chicken stock, pesto, granola, tomato sauce… the list goes on and on. If you buy it from the store, do a quick recipe search and try making it at home.7. Buy Fair-Trade.When you don’t know your farmer because you’re buying from a foreign country look for the words “Fair-Trade”. TransFair USA ensures that farmers are treated justly and paid fairly for their work.8. Know The Cost of Cheap Food.
  6. Michael Pollan's 2006 book The Omnivore's Dilemma made clear the benefits of sustainable agriculture and food production, and even foraging or killing your own food: it's healthier for people, animals, farmers, the land and nature. The ongoing popularity of this book has helped create a demand for sustainably raised food that has out-paced supply. The Omnivore's Dilemma patiently outlined what is wrong with industrial agriculture and livestock production, where highly subsidized ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup have become a surplus commodity to be forced upon products or animals in order to reduce the price of ingredients, without regard to health (diabetes, reduced nutrition). I had the good fortune of meeting Angelo Garro, the Italian forager, now based in Northern California who was profiled in the last half of the book. As we traded notes on wild huckleberry picking one afternoon at a friend's orchard party, he was pulling off some strips of meat from a boiled carcass. When the sun went down most were unknowingly eating a jack rabbit that Angelo had shot in the orchard a few hours before--it had made its way into a delicious bolognese pasta sauce.
  7. An Internationally recognized speaker and youth advocate for sustainable food and agriculture, Birke has visited and worked at farms around the United States and recently returned from a stint on an organic farm in Italy. He has attended seminars with renowned farmer and author, Joel Salatin who has mentored Birke in his pursuit of new thinking about food and agriculture. Birke continues his education in this genre and expects to be a sustainable organic agriculturist in the future. He has a passion for educating others, especially his peers, about the destructiveness of the industrialized food system and the enlightening alternatives of sustainable and organic farming, food and practices. Birke was the youngest presenter at TEDx Next Generation Asheville (Aug. ’10) where he gave the talk entitled, “What’s Wrong With our Food System”  which became the most watched TEDx talk of all time with over 350,000+ views. The talk was also featured on TED.com. Birke is passionate about continuing to spread his message for change, as he says in his TEDx talk, “one kid at a time”. Since then he has had the privilege to introduce keynote speaker, Joel Salatin, at the Nevada County Grown Sustainable Food and Farm Conference. Wowed, the audience at the Organic Growers Association’s IGNITE! Agriculture event in North Carolina, spoken at the Tennessee Organic Growers Association, appeared on the Italian television show, “Il Senso Della Vita” with Paolo Bonolis and given a talk to the students of John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Birke has also spoken at TEDxRedmond, the 1st Annual Bonfire Heights Event near Monterey, CA and TEDx Asheville 2011. Birke has been featured on many blogs, websites, newsletters and podcast interviews sharing his knowledge and passion about food.  He enjoys getting his hands dirty on chemical free farms, growing his own vegetables, checking out local farmers markets and farms, civil war history and reenactment, reading, writing, doing research, traveling with his family and spending time with his self proclaimed best friend, his 77 year old Grandfather. Currently, Birke's book for kids, "Birke on the Farm - A Boy's Quest for Real Food" which is about his journey of discovery about food and farming is being illustrated and prepared for publication. His website, www.birkeonthefarm.com and his facebook page keep folks updated on his learning and the sharing of his message. Birke has been filmed for two upcoming documentary films, Choice Point and Bite Size.