Comments on: The high cost of cheap food

By: zrozbicki

zrozbicki — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:40:49 +0000

We have long since become our own “sacred cows”. More attention needs to be paid to the main problem; we are making the planet a “human monoculture”. Too many of us, not enough species diversity and vibrabt natural habitats. Working toward more sustainable food creation is great except it looks past the fact that our population itself is unsustainable. As such, the concept of creating a “sustainable food supply” for an unsustainable population level really doesn’t work. The problems mentioned above relating to scaling organic food supplies are a perfect example of that. So certainly I’m in favor of doing it right, clean and with fewer chemicals etc. Sooner than later however, the only sustainable solution to food production will be to move toward a sustainable population level that allows for a vibrant diversity of species in addition to our own. Any other solution is just an excercise in building a prettier house of cards.

By: Bronwyn Guild

Bronwyn Guild — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 06:09:24 +0000

Wow, Great article. Thanks for sharing.

Yes it’s true~ Stoneyfield Farm and especially Whole Foods, or as known to many of my friends and colleagues, “Whole Paycheck” are a lot of talk on a lot of fronts and are greenwashing the socks off their whole operations.

I was shocked however to read in a recent article that Organic Valley has, along with these two giants, agreed to “coexistence” with Monsanto Genetically Modified (GM) seeds. See article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie-cummins/the-organic-elite-surrend_b_815346.html

By: Bronwyn Guild

Bronwyn Guild — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 06:04:48 +0000

Dear Sir,

I think your site is great! I just read an article you may find interesting, covering certain subjects of Big Ag you mention.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronnie-cummins/the-organic-elite-surrend_b_815346.html

Best Wishes, I’ll be checking in shortly!

By: DuncanM

DuncanM — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:37:41 +0000

People don’t realize the how much our environment suffers through doing things on such a large scale. Things like fertilizer contamination goes unpunished because it isn’t visually obvious, that’s the scary thing in all this.

By: Jonathan Maier

Jonathan Maier — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:18:52 +0000

Hi,

as a food critic and Organic movement enthusiast, I would like to point out that companies such as Stonyfield’s farm, despite their organic pledge to adhere to organic farming which I appreciate, put a strain on our environment in a different way than industrial agriculture does.
Read the following article which highlights some of the issues encountered by Organic businesses. My fear is that within the next 10 years organic farming will grow but make the same mistakes that industrial farming made.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005001.htm

By: Scott Exo

Scott Exo — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:57:44 +0000

I’m disappointed you didn’t take the time to contact Food Alliance or do some rudimentary research on our website. The result was an inaccurate portrayal of our organization and over a decade of our work.

You wrote that “Several organizations — the Keystone Center, the Leonardo Academy, and the Food Alliance — are, in one way or another, trying to define standards for sustainable food, which could eventually lead to labels and third-party certification.”

That sentence is true for the first two examples, but Food Alliance is not trying to define standards that could lead to certification–we began publishing standards, operating a third party certification and licensing the use of our seal 13 years ago! That isn’t “trying”, and it isn’t “eventually”; it’s doing it.

There are over 320 certified farms and ranches in Canada, Mexico, and 23 U.S. states managing over 5.6 million acres of range and farmland–more than the certified organic acreage in N America. Food Alliance has also certified 6 distribution centers and 18 food processing facilities since 2006. Much of the beef in Whole Foods stores in the western US is certified by Food Alliance, for example.

I would be grateful if you’d edit or add a correction to your article.

Thanks,

-Scott

Scott Exo
Executive Director
Food Alliance
(503) 493-1066 x30
http://www.foodalliance.org
Twitter: @foodalliance

By: Greenapt

Greenapt — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:41:17 +0000

Anyway you try to make it sound good—eating meat, dairy, poultry, fish (any animal product) it is never good for the animal, not good for the environment and very bad for our health. It’s sad that we have to label things “all natural” or “organic” in the first place. Food is the most important thing in our lives and it should be treated with greater respect. First off, stop eating animal products. It takes much water, corn, space to raise these animals who deserve a better life on sanctuaries with people who really care about them for who they are. #2 Factory farms torture animals, pollute the environment, spread disease and create an unhealthy product. #3 Guess how many forests are clear cut around the world for cattle (a whole lot). Bottom line: let’s stop causing the unnecessary suffering of billions of animals each year all so we can throw them in the microwave or in the trash (as most people in this country waste waste waste most of the food they buy). If you want to eat meat then you should have to kill the animal (not with a gun, look it in the eye and take its life), butcher it and eat it (can’t do that? gross you out? do you really like meat or the condiments you smother it in?).
Buy local at your farmers market. If there is not one start one. Real food does not need a label. Want to live long and health eat real food and no animal products.