EDA News Summer Edition 2024

WELCOME TO THE SUMMER ISSUE

From the farm to your table

In this issue we delve into the journey your food takes. We explore the environmental and nutritional costs of long-distance food travel and how the miles your food travels can impact its freshness and your health. We'll look at alternative ways to enjoy fresh, local produce through Community Supported Agriculture and learn about the importance of the sustainable farming practices that these organizations embrace. We'll also take a closer look at the benefits of community gardens and what those labels on your food mean. Read on to see how our food choices can nourish both our bodies and our planet.

Back issues of EDA News can be found on the EDA website

Have you ever stopped to think about the intricate journey your fresh produce undertakes before it ends up on the shelves of your local grocery store? The path from farm to table is a labyrinth of processes involving numerous hands and miles of travel.

Food is harvested before it’s fully ripe. Freshness, a key concern for consumers, is inherently compromised by the multi-step journey our food takes. Food loses its nutritional value 24 hours after being harvested. Harvested produce is typically transported from farms to distribution centers, then to regional warehouses, and finally to retail stores. Each transfer adds time and distance, diminishing the freshness of the food.

The majority of food we buy travels an average of 1,500 miles. During transportation, fluctuations in air and temperature contribute to lowering its nutritional value. The shorter the supply chain, the less potential for spoilage and contamination. According to the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, it’s estimated that 30 - 40% of food production is wasted due to the long distance food travels and the greater probability of contamination or spoilage.

We all want to make empowered, informed choices about the foods we consume these days. Learning how food traceability works can provide the confidence that you’re providing your family the safest and freshest foods possible.

In practical terms, traceability involves documenting and linking the production, processing and distribution chain of food products and ingredients from the farm to your table. You can follow the movement of a food product backward (from the consumer back to its origin) and forward (from its origin to the consumer).

Why is this important?

FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) emphasizes standardized traceability in the event of a food-borne illness or a contamination event. Efficient product tracing helps government agencies and food producers rapidly identify the source of the product and where contamination first occurred. Enhanced tracking allows products to be quickly and effectively removed from the marketplace. These standards ensure food safety, quality, transparency and accountability of the food supply chain, benefiting both businesses and consumers alike.

What do those labels mean?

Besides enhancing our personal dining experience, locally grown food can potentially improve our health and that of our planet. Produce that has traveled a short distance from farm to table not only tastes better, it usually possesses greater nutritional value than food that has been trucked across state lines or transported from other countries.

An additional detriment to long distance transport is how much more carbon gets added to the atmosphere from using non-renewable fuels to move the food. As we know, nutrition and pollution are sustainability issues that affect our well-being across generations.

CSAs can be financially beneficial for farmers. Historically, they started in the 1980’s. In a 2017 survey, the majority of farms who participated indicated that profitability did increase, while 10% said profitability increased significantly. By 2019, there were over 8,700 CSA’s in the U.S.

Cities such as Denver have included collaboration with CSAs into their city planning. In Columbus, Ohio a group called Franklinton Farms, has set up a CSA in that community. Madison, Wisconsin’s FairShare CSA Coalition created voucher programs to help lower income residents participate. The participating farms remain independent entities in the coalition. Over the years, these networks have evolved and some have even introduced other products related to the health and wellness sector.

Up until the 1960’s most American high school students were given courses in civics and government. Unfortunately, over the years, civics courses were slashed, and the curriculum was shortened as core subjects became the focus.

Understanding how government works creates more engaged citizens who will actively participate in our democracy. If you didn’t study civics in school, or you’d like to brush up on your knowledge, here’s your chance! This June EDA will be continuing our education offering with another seminar.

James will be the Executive Producer, Senior Researcher and occasional host of a podcast series, called Planetary Choices: Challenges and Solutions for the Future. Through discussions with leaders, experts, activists and students, these video presentations will explore how humanity can move beyond globalization to a more planetary viewpoint and why this is needed. James will be managing the research, programming, operations and fundraising for these podcasts with a team of five people, as well as teaching a course on biophysical economics at the university.

James remains a member of EDA and will continue to take part in our activities.

EDA members put their event kit to good use this spring with a number of events. Our goal with these events is to introduce EDA to the public and increase our membership. Thanks to our members in three locations who set up a table along with some of our printed material and engaged people in conversation.

In Lakeland, Florida we talked to a diverse group of people about subjects like participatory democracy. In Columbus, Ohio, we were part of an Earth Day event where our members were able to draw attention to EDA's focus on resource management for sustainability. And in San Diego, we talked to high school students bound for college. These students were very aware and interested in the future health of our planet.

Interested in introducing EDA to your community?

Contact one of our At-Large Trustees. They can explain how we've done it in the past, and give you other guidance. You can request EDA's event kit. It has a range of promotional and educational material. The kit can be shipped to your location free of charge, and return shipping is prepaid. Please notify the Trustees at least three weeks in advance.

There are also one-page education pieces that can be downloaded from our website in the Blog section. EDA members will find these PDFs on the Active Member site in Basecamp, our member communications platform.