Kerri LaChariteAssisting Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, George Mason University College of Health and Human Services. She writes and teaches on sustainable food systems, urban farming, and the effects agriculture-based learning has on eating behaviors. She recently answered questions regarding food consumption, sustainable agriculture, and the environment.
What are the environmental issues related to food consumption
How we eat has many environmental effects. Greenhouse gas emissions related to U.S. food supply chains mainly come from food production, with smaller contributions from food transport and retail.
Other impacts include the loss of biodiversity, reduced bee and bird population due to pesticides and freshwater salination, overexploitation fish stocks, deforestation and the emergence of pesticide resistant weeds.
With so many environmental crises it can be easy to feel helpless, hopeless, or even depressed. We can all take simple steps to help the environment.
What does the term sustainable food system mean?
A sustainable food system is one that meets the needs of both humans and the Earth. It means that the system can be sustained for a long time and maintain productivity indefinitely. This definition can be a little ambiguous but it is purposeful.
A sustainable food system must be local. What is grown in Vermont’s mountains and what is eaten there would be very different from the Balinese rice paddies or the semi-arid climate in Arizona. These areas would have different growing practices.
What is urban agriculture? How does it fit into sustainability?
Urban agriculture refers to the cultivation of food in urban areas. This can be done in yards, collective community gardens or rooftop farms. You can also grow vertically indoors using soilless techniques like hydroponics or UV lighting.
Sustainable food systems focus on expanding local food systems and overlapping national and international food systems to increase resilience.
Q: How does nutrition fit in with concepts of sustainability and food?
What is healthy for the environment, is healthy for us. Changes in food consumption habits to reduce meat and other animal products It can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as some of its risks, such Type 2 diabetes.
How can individuals and groups contribute to sustainability?
We can all take the biggest step to reduce global greenhouse gases by consuming less meat and animal products. Sustainable healthy diets include vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, Mediterranean diet, New Nordic diet, meat reduction, and following USDA dietary guidelines. Even a single day without meat can have environmental benefits. Small steps taken together can have a significant impact on the environment as well as our health.
What is food policy? Why is it important?
We need food that is available, affordable, sustainable and nutritious. This is a difficult task. We should not consider healthy food and sustainability a luxury as a global society. Food policy at the national level (such as laws affecting agriculture) and at the local level (such zoning for community gardens and urban agriculture) can encourage and mandate sustainable foods systems.
What if the U.S. invests as much in research and development in sustainable agriculture as in conventional industrial agriculture? The cost of organic and sustainable food might drop. What if we demanded that a certain amount of food be procured locally and sustainably in schools, prisons, universities, and other government institutions? Policy encourages collective action and serves our values as best as it can. It can have a lasting impact.
Reach Kerri LaCharite at [email protected]
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About George Mason
George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university. Mason University is located in Washington, D.C., and enrolls 39,000 students representing 130 countries and all 50 US states. Mason has seen rapid growth over the past 50 years and is well-known for its innovation, entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. Mason will celebrate 50 years of independence in 2022. Find out more atwww.gmu.edu.