Terminology:

Vegetarian/Vegan: Vegetarians are people who refuse to eat meat; vegans avoid all animal products including dairy, honey, eggs, etc. People who decide to become vegetarian or vegan do so for a variety of reasons, including wanting to minimize their dependence on the meat industry for environmental, health, and/or ethical reasons. The raising and processing methods of meat in the United States is responsible for a disproportionate amount of environmental destruction:

• 85% of U.S. topsoil loss is caused by the raising of livestock • 3 times as many fossil fuels are used in the production of meat than the production of vegetables • Meat production is responsible for deforestation lost to grazing land on a national and global scale • More than half of ALL WATER used for ALL PURPOSES in the U.S. goes to livestock production • 20 Million people will die of hunger this year • If Americans were to reduce their meat intake by 10%, we could feed an additional 100 million people.

Web Resources
The Vegetarian Pages www.veg.org
“How to Win an Argument With a Meat Eater” www.old.veg.org/veg/FAQ/extinction.html#hunger
www.animalconcerns.org
www.vegan.org
www.vegweb.com

Organic: According to the USDA, organic foods are produced
“To respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.”
More specifically this means that organic food:
• is grown using crop rotation and inter-planting instead of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides
• is not genetically engineered or irradiated
• does not use antibiotics, preservatives, dyes or additives

Organic foods are generally fresher and more flavorful than their conventional counterparts. Although organic foods are sometimes more expensive, in truth the real costs of conventional growth are hidden: health risks, ecological damage, and farm subsidies paid for by taxes.

Food Irradiation: This “safety technique” treats foods with ionizing radiation to kill bacteria and parasites and slow decay to increase shelf life. This process decreases the vitamin content in foods and produces controversial “radiolytic products” that may or may not be safe for consumers. Irradiated processed foods are required to carry a symbol on the packaging called “radura” or state that they irradiated, while fresh foods are irradiated are not labeled as such.

Web Resources
National Organic Program www.ams.usda.gov/nop
Organic Consumers Association www.purefood.org
www.organicadvocates.org

Genetically Engineered Foods: Genetically engineered food is food which has had its genetic code (DNA) altered in order to express a particular trait. Unlike traditional breeding techniques, genetic engineering can combine the genes of two entirely different species, the effects of which are largely untested and unknown.

Genetic foods pose a potential threat as their long lasting effects are largely unknown.

• Lack of Consumer Knowledge: Labeling of genetically modified foods is not required, hence consumers have no control over whether or not their conventionally grown foods are genetically modified.
• Human Health: Genetic modification of foods could produce unforeseen toxins or allergens.
• Environmental Health: Crops genetically modified to be pest-resistant may end up killing the good insects as well as the bad, herbicide-resistant crops may lead to the creation of “superweeds” through cross-pollination.

In addition, many people simply are morally or ethically opposed to the practice of altering the genetic code of living creatures. Luckily, nationally certified organic foods are now also GE-free.

Web Resources
www.greenpeace.org/~geneng/
www.safe-food.org

Local: “Your supermarket contains produce from at least 90 different countries…up to 1/3 of fruits and 12% of vegetables from foreign sources… in winter as much as 60% of fresh produce is imported…more than 98% of the imports are untested for pesticides and pathogens” (vegiwash.com)

Local food is better for the environment and the local economy:
• Food from far away contributes to pollution and global warming as transporting the food requires the burning of fossil foods.
• Buying from local producers improves the local economy by helping out local farms that may be small or family owned. If possible, this food should be bought directly from the producers at farmer’s markets or at small local groceries.
• Buying local food also minimizes the amount of waste generated by packaging as local foods are less likely to need packaging.

Fair Trade: Not all foods can be bought from local producers. For those items that are not produced locally, it is important to buy fair trade food because:

• Fair Trade food offer fair wages in the local context for the people who grow the food. In the era of globalization many producers in developing nations are forced to transfer resources for food that will be exported. • Fair Trade companies open themselves to public accountability and offer real opportunities for advancement to producers. • Fair Trade companies attempt to minimize the environmental impacts of harvesting crops.

Places to Shop/Eat

Stores with organic/GE-free products:

Cornucopia- Thornes Market Lower Level, Main Street Downtown
Whole Foods- Route 9 towards Amherst, same complex as Walmart
Stop and Shop (Natural Foods Aisle)- King Street, Northampton
State Street Fruit- State Street, Northampton
Serio’s Market- State Street, Northampton
 

Restaurants with vegan, organic, and GE-free food:

Bela Vegetarian Cuisine- Masonic Street, Northampton
Bart’s Homemade- Amherst
Paul and Elizabeth’s- 150 Main Street, Northampton (above Herrel’s)
Haymarket- Main Street, Northampton
Elbow Room Café- Green Street, Northampton
Cha Cha Cha- 134 Main Street, Northampton
Eastside Grill- 19 Strong Avenue, Northampton
Green St. Café- 62 Green Street, Northampton
Veracruzana- 31 Main Street, Northampton
...and many more!