Clean air, clean water, healthy bodies, and a socially just economy can all be enhanced by what you eat everyday.
Organics
Organic means that your food is "clean." More specifically, crops were grown without conventional pesticides and are GMO free, and animals were reared without the use of hormones and non-therapeutic antibiotics. The new USDA Organic seal, used with the term organic, tells consumers that a food - be it fruit, vegetables, eggs, dairy, meat or processed products - is at least 95 percent organic. Visit The National Organic Program for more information about governmental organic standards. When you buy organic food, you are supporting a gentler way to raise food on the planet and ensuring that fewer pesticides and other harmful chemicals (like bovine growth hormone in conventional milk) enter your body.
Locally Grown Food – Support your local farmer’s markets and CSAs!
Many food advocates these days, such as Michael Pollan, suggest that buying locally grown food is even more important than buying organic food, because locally grown food has fewer miles to travel (saving on environmentally harmful transportation emissions), is grown in season (thus needing fewer chemicals), arrives thousands of miles fresher, and is the key to building a sustainable food economy. To find the nearest farmer's markets, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture programs), family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food including restaurants that try to source their food locally visit Local Harvest.
Fair Trade
Buying Fair Trade Certified products ensures that farmers get a fair minimum price on their crops, use safe working conditions, and support community development projects such as building schools and health clinics. Fair Trade farmers use environmentally-friendly production practices that help to ensure that they can protect their land and their health for decades to come. Ask for fairly traded products at your local grocery store, food co-op, or specialty shop.
Vegetarian or Vegan Food
One easy way to reduce your ecological footprint is to increase your intake of meat-free meals. Growing the crops to feed farm animals requires massive amounts of water and land; more than 70 percent of the grains and cereals we grow in the United States are fed to farm animals. Methane emitted by livestock and their manure, just in the United States, equals the global-heating impact of 33 million cars, according to the 2006 book Six Arguments for a Greener Diet. A person doesn't need to become a vegetarian (eating no meat or fish) or a vegan (eating no animal products at all, including dairy, eggs, and honey) to reduce the environmental impact of his food choices. Start with where you are, and reduce your meat intake from there.