The Hidden Cost of Food The use of resources and our environment for food production Brandi Hacker The Future of Creation May 6, 2008 From Farms… Industrial farms are major sources pollution – Air http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=99791&rendTypeId=4 • Methane and other gases emitted – Water • • • • • http://www.adlaz.org/images/gestationcolor.jpg Nutrients Ammonia and Nitrates Antibiotics Heavy metals and salts Water usage … to the shelves Fossil Fuels are used Our food has to travel – By planes, trains, trucks, and ships Most fresh fruits and vegetables in the U.S are shipped from CA, FL, and WA Fruits and vegetables spend to 14 days in transit before they arrive in the store http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Fredmeyer_edit_1.jpg Where Our Food Comes From QuickTime™ and a TIFF (LZW) decompressor are needed to see this picture Agriculture Footprint Brief July 2003 Food Miles= miles traveled from farm to tables Broccoli – Grown within 20 miles of most homes in United States – At supermarket travels 1,800 miles to get there “The Issues Introductio.” The True Cost of Food Visit www.truecostoffood.org – View the movie as an introduction to this complex issue Use the discussion guide to begin the conversation in your congregation and other local groups Facts from the Movie A gallon of oil is used per pound of beef Twenty-five hundred gallons of water for each pound of steak For every 10 pounds of healthy grain you put into a cow, you only get out one pound of meat Worldwide, we chop down an acre of rainforest every minute, and lose millions of grasslands acres a year, to feed and graze cattle Factory farm runoff has poisoned the ground water in 17 states and has polluted 35,000 miles of America's Facts… Continued 16% of the methane comes from animals Mono-cropped fields are doused with one billion pounds of toxic pesticides a year Short-sighted practices make the earth lose 24 billion tons of topsoil a year You need more and more chemicals all the time, to get the same results In 2002, the largest 10% of farms collected 65% of the subsidies; the bottom half got 2% $256 a year % of our farms sell 72% of our food Eating local saves up to 17 times the gas costs of food you buy in the supermarket The organic food market is growing at 25 percent a year Individuals Can Help Eat in Season Shop for locally grown food Encourage others to eat and shop local Learn about a local farm Host a harvest party Put together a local food directory Experiment with drying, canning, or preserving in season fruit for later Plant a garden Speak to your local politician Worldwatch Paper #163, 59 Questions for Thought… What surprised you in the information? Name one thing you could to start shopping more locally – Or to help others shop locally Works Cited Deumling, Diana, Mathis Wackernagel, and Chad Monfreda “Eating Up the Earth: How Sustainable Food Systems Shrink Our Ecological Footprint.” Agriculture Footprint Brief July 2003 Available from http://www.rprogress.org/publications/index.htm Accessed May 2008 “Guide for Discussion Leaders.” The True Cost of Food May 2008 http://www.truecostoffood.org/truecostoffood/leaders.asp#intro Halweil, Brian “Worldwatch Paper #163: Home Grown: The Case For Local Food In A Global Market.” World Watch Institute November 2002 “See the Movie!” The True Cost of Food May 2008 http://www.truecostoffood.org/truecostoffood/movie.asp “The Issues: Air Pollution.” Sustainable Table Serving Up Healthy Food Choices May 2008 http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/airpollution/ “The Issues Introduction.” Sustainable Table Serving Up Healthy Food Choices May 2008 http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/ “The Issues: Water Pollution.” Sustainable Table Serving Up Healthy Food Choices May 2008 http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/waterpollution/ “Where does our food come from?” FoodRoutes.org May 2008 http://www.foodroutes.org/whycare.js p ... November 2002 “See the Movie!” The True Cost of Food May 2008 http://www.truecostoffood.org/truecostoffood/movie.asp The Issues: Air Pollution.” Sustainable Table Serving Up Healthy Food Choices May... Discussion Leaders.” The True Cost of Food May 2008 http://www.truecostoffood.org/truecostoffood/leaders.asp#intro Halweil, Brian “Worldwatch Paper #163: Home Grown: The Case For Local Food In A Global... True Cost of Food Visit www.truecostoffood.org – View the movie as an introduction to this complex issue Use the discussion guide to begin the conversation in your congregation and other