Just Food exists to help urban people connect with farmers
or grow food that is healthful, not harmful to people and
the environment. Why is this important? What are the problems
with the regular food you find in your supermarket?
Here
are some of the bigger issues that surround food in the United
States.
The Hunger Problem. New York City's soup
kitchens and food pantries fed 45% more people in 2002 than
in 2000. In 2003, 1.6 million New Yorkers will turn again
to these emergency food sources . That's one in five NYC residents.
What can be done? Read our Hunger
Tip Sheet to find out how CSA and locally-produced
foods can help.
Industrial Farming.
An increasingly concentrated industry, with a small percentage
of large corporations controlling the majority of food profits
while small farmers are going out of business. Due to corporate
pressure to “get big or get out,” we have lost
nearly 67% of our farms since 1920. Industrial ag corporations
tend to put profits before people, resulting in foods that
are less safe and nutritious. Find out more about corporate
farming at familyfarmer.org,
factoryfarm.org,
agobservatory.org.
Sustainable Farming. What does sustainability
mean, anyway? It is about creating solutions that work to
support all life, for this and future generations. For farming,
this means that practices are instituted which take into
account the soil and air, how workers are paid, how animals
are raised, and more. For more on sustainable food as part
of a global system, please see farmingsolutions.org.
In our area, the Northeast
Organic Farming Association has been a pioneer in offering
technical assistance to farmers to learn organic growing
techniques. Visit: NOFA-NY,
NOFA-NJ,
NOFA-CT,
PASA.
More information about food
and farm issues will be coming soon.
Please see our news and articles
and recommended resources. |
