for the good of food….

We all need to eat. But there are many choices as to what we eat, and each choice has its own ramifications, positive or negative. Certain choices can be beneficial to the environment, society and individuals. But in Canada this is not as easy as it sounds or as it should be.

On the bike trip we will eat an environmentally friendly diet consisting of bio-regional, organic, fair trade and vegetarian food.

It is vital to note that only when these principles are applied together will their benefit be maximized. For example, on a large scale, organic farming shows many of the same problems as industrial farming. For this reason, the following principles will be followed together as much as possible:

1. support local
2. support small farms and businesses
3. support organic
4. support fair trade
5. be vegetarian
6. food waste
7. buy in bulk

1. Support Local

"The makings of the average meal eaten in North America have travelled 1,500 miles before they're gobbled down in seconds flat." (Roberts, MacRae, Stahlbrand Real Food for a Change, p.10)

By eating locally, we cut down on the distance food has to travel to reach us, and the green house gases emitted in the process. Most of the food that is in supermarkets today requires vast amounts of energy to produce. This is primarily due to the fact that transport trucks crisscross Canada to deliver a variety of products from the other side of the country, or via plane or cargo vessel from other countries. These foods are fossil fuel dependent.

Supporting local means the impacts of growing food are felt by those who consume the food -the food is in your “backyard”. Food grown and consumed locally requires very little transportation cost. Also, bio-diversity is maintained by farmers that grow the crops that prosper in their particular climate and because climate varies, so will their crops.

It also helps maintains traditional knowledge. Large scale becomes dependent on technology, which changes the perspective from a human one to a mechanical one. On a small scale, farmers are likely to develop a relationship with the land. Also, small farmers will not grow one species alone.

By eating locally, we are eating what we can physically produce. For example, the US, EU, Canada, Argentina and Australia account for 4/5 of the world’s grain exportation. This is a sort of environmental racism.

2. Support Small Farms and Businesses: sometimes smaller is better

Small farms and businesses are not dependent on the same economies of scale. Therefore they do not need the same fossil fuel inputs, in terms of fertilizer, and gasoline for mechanical machines. They can have a diverse mixture of crops, using the fertilizer from their chickens on the field, and the leftover corn to feed the chickens. Large, industrial farms concentrate on mechanization, single species and high yield production that degrades soil nutrient level and results in erosion. There is little crop rotation. Traditions, which have developed over time in their specific location are quickly considered antiquated in modern production models. An example of this would be the collecting of seeds for replanting.

Supporting small businesses builds a community, both an economic and social community. It means that farmers can get paid decently for their work, and profits are not diverted to the shareholders of large multinational corporations.

3. Support Organic: hands off my genes, oh…and no pesticides please

The foods we purchase in the supermarket are coated in a variety of different pesticides and chemical preservatives. The total impacts of pesticides are unknown; however, the number of synthetic chemicals found in women’s breasts has increased from 20 in the 1900s to 120 in 1998. Many of these chemicals have resulted in birth defects.

“More than 11% of the world’s cropland was identified in 1989 as ‘severely eroded’” (State of the World p.50)

In organic foods, you get more nutrients out of the food. Pesticides kill some of the good in the fruit. Also, the impacts of synthetic chemicals on the ecosystem are extreme. For example, the Peregrine Falcon almost went extinct due to the use of certain pesticides in fields. This is but another example of how the use of fossil fuel fertilizers causes vast amounts of problems.

Genetically modified organisms are similar to pesticides. Insufficient research has been devoted to the consequences of fiddling with genes. We believe that rather then introducing new threats, we should try to deal with the ones that already exist.

Organic crops permit the protection of bio-diversity in their growth. Many of the insect prevention techniques in organic gardening rely on bio-diversity. Buying organic also discourages the impacts of cash crops which protects the ecosystem in a different sense. Because Economics are generally prioritized over the land, ecosystems are destroyed in order to promote the cultivation of monocultures. Buying organic promotes bio-diversity instead.

4. Support Fair Trade: food for justice

When a product is not “fair trade”, there is an unbalance of energy/effort between the employees and the employer. The most common example of this problem happens when a large company branches off into a new area and exploits the local people by paying them minimal wages for the amount of work they do. Certain products, such as coffee and tea, are very susceptible to this. This makes buying fair trade in these cases very important.

5. Be Vegetarian: no meat!

Ingredients:	Gallons:
Beef (4 oz.)	616
Cheese (1 oz.)	56
Bun (2 oz.)	25
Ketchup (1oz.)	3.2
Tomato (1 oz.)	1.8
Lettuce (1 oz.)	1.3

*source: Ryan and Durning. Stuff p. 55

There are two main reasons why eating a vegetarian diet reduces greenhouse gas emissions. First, the energy intensity of meat production is very great in comparison to that of fruits and vegetables. Second, livestock, in most cases, requires a lot of land. Forests are clearcut to provide more range land on which to graze livestock. This means fewer trees and vegetation to absorb greenhouse gases from the air. In addition, livestock, like cows, secrete lots of methane from flatulence and manure decomposition, creating a “double whammy” sort of result. “The greenhouse gases emitted in producing my burger were equivalent to those emitted in my six-mile commute by car.” (John C, Ryan & Alan Thein Durning. Stuff p. 56)

6. Food Waste: don’t throw THAT away!

Many people in the world are starving...no need to go any further.

7. Buy in Bulk: sometimes BIGGER is better

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Buying food in bulk eliminates a lot of the packaging used today. Packaging adds a whole new dimension of environmental negativity to food. On top of those green-house gasses emitted in the production of foods (which vary greatly as we have shown), we uselessly add more from plastics, papers, glues, inks, etc. These materials all result in greenhouse gas emissions in the process of production.