Organic Food: Local, Fair Trade and Sustainable
Organic food has become increasingly popular in recent years, along with other food trends such as local and sustainable agriculture. These new themes in food production and consumption are often referred to as part of the socially responsible food movement. Our Organic Food Web Guide helps you learn more about socially responsible food, and shows you how and where to shop for local and sustainable organic food products. Also get resources for growing your own organic food, and find information on locating restaurants and foodies that specialize in socially responsible eating.
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The sites below define the organic food movement and other socially responsible food trends, offering an overview of why they are beneficial to your health and to Mother Earth.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Below are definitions of some of the most commonly used terms of the organic and socially responsible food movements.
- Certified Organic: Food products legally certified in the United States as adhering to organic standards set down by law.
- Beyond Organic: A movement that seeks to go beyond what it considers the United States' inadequate organic standards.
- Sustainable: Farming that is concerned with the overall wellbeing of the ecosystem and its ability to sustain itself.
- Biodynamic: A specific method and philosophy of sustainable farming.
- Local: A movement to create and use local food systems and networks to avoid excessive shipping and reestablish local food cultures.
- Fair-Trade: A movement and certification process that focuses on the rights, health and working conditions of the workers who produce these products.
- Pasture-Raised: Animals that were raised in pastures, rather than in factory farms.
- Grass-Fed: Animals that were raised eating grass in pastures rather than other feed like corn and animal products.
- As you explore this guide, keep handy this "Glossary of Organic and Natural Terminology."
- For a summary of the many benefits of eating sustainable food, read this article presented by the Weston A. Price Foundation, entitled "Finding Health Close to Home--A Call for Localism."
Dulcinea's Picks
For more on the vocabulary of food ...
Organic.org
gives you plain English explanations about certified organic food, its benefits and the USDA labels that define it.
FoodRoutes.org
outlines what's in our food, where it comes from and of how it gets to us. This nonprofit clarifies the different types of socially responsible food movements, and advocates for the renewal of local food networks.
Sustainable Table
defines sustainable food and the benefit of eating it. You'll find a dictionary of sustainable food terms on the site, as well as an "eat well guide" with a directory of sustainable food resources nationwide.
For information on specific food movements ...
The Organic Center
delivers straightforward scientific research about the organic food movement. You'll find lots of scientific articles and news regarding the health, nutrition, safety, and environmental impact of organic foods and agriculture.
TransfairUSA
explains what fair-trade products are, how they are certified, and where you can buy them. The only independent, third-party fair-trade certification organization in the United States, TransfairUSA is the authority on this growing movement of socially responsible trade.
The Sierra Club
is the oldest grassroots environmental group in the country, providing trustworthy information on sustainable consumption. Learn about the benefits of the movement as an entire lifestyle. Visit its factory farm page for a deeper look at the American food industry.
For more tips on sustainable eating ...
Ideal Bite
is a sustainable living "tip" library, chock-full of small ways you can increase the greenness of your daily life. Their food and drink section will help you turn all these big ideas of sustainability into practical changes in your lifestyle, like switching to a French press to get tastier and more efficient coffee.
Buying Organic Food
The opportunities to eat organically, locally and sustainably are spreading across the country and throughout the Web. These sites help you find the farms, stores and restaurants that serve socially responsible food and can even help you get fresh produce delivered to your door.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Buying organic food is not necessarily better for the Earth. If you buy organic peaches in December but live in Alaska, your fruit was likely grown thousands of miles away. The carbon footprint of transporting produce is also something to think about: buying organic, seasonal produce can make a big difference for the environment.
- The best way to support local vendors is to participate in a CSA program (Community Supported Agriculture). CSAs let you buy a membership in a farm share, then pick up fresh produce, dairy and other products once a week. Products are set asside for CSA members, and you'll get a box full of whatever's in season.
Dulcinea's Picks
For finding markets and stores near you ...
Local Harvest
is arguably the most extensive nationwide resource for finding socially responsible food. The site has a directory to CSAs, Farmers Markets and Organic/Natural Food stores across the U.S., and can even be used to order food online.
Whole Foods
is an organic and natural foods reseller with about 200 stores nationwide. The site's store locator will get you on your way to its real-world locations almost before you can say "gluten-free cherry almond streusel muffin and a soy milk, please."
Trader Joe's
is a popular nationwide supermarket that features a largely organic and sustainable inventory. Use this site to learn about Trader Joe's products, philosophy, and where to find a store near you. You can also use the site for lots of entertaining, cooking, and recipe advice: visit the "Reading Room" for more.
For organic food delivered to your door ...
Diamond Organics
delivers all things organic to your door overnight, including most foodstuffs imaginable. Though not part of the local food movement, this site lets you tap into the agriculture of central California as if you lived mere hours away. Stick to the product categories written in blue at the top of the page for easy browsing.
HeritageFoodsUSA
lets you order a variety of meat products online to be shipped directly to you. The site includes an online traceable label feature, which confirms the path your food took to you. HeritageFoodsUSA offers a list of traditional livestock species, seafood, Native American foods, and some dried goods ("heritage foods"), with the goal of restoring the original food traditions, species and tastes of North America.
For identifying organic, local, or sustainable food at mainstream stores and restaurants ...
The Monterey Bay Aquarium
has created a useful site to help you navigate your way to safe, socially responsible seafood. Their online and printable pocket guides feature a simple rating system to evaluate the environmental soundness of eating different seafood species. The site also contains a great deal of information for restaurants and businesses interested in serving "responsible" seafood.
CertifiedHumane.org
list participating farms, resellers, and restaurants that serve meat which has been handled humanely. This voluntary program certifies meat and other animal products as coming from humanely raised animals according to strict standards.
USDA National Organic Program
's consumer site gives you the official line on organic labeling and what these labels really say about the contents of the food you're eating.
For buying fair-trade products ...
Global Exchange
has a Fair Trade Online Store that offers crafts, clothing, jewelry and bath products. Though commodity items such as coffee and chocolate are certified through independent organizations, the other products on this site are vetted only by Global Exchange itself, so check out their process to make sure it meets your standards.
Growing Organic Food
If you're interested in producing your own organic food, the following sites can help. You'll learn how to forage for fresh food, and how to build and maintain your own garden. Links on how to locate or start a community garden are also provided.
Dulcinea's Insight
- This article from Backwoods Home Magazine details how to get started foraging-a handy guide for any beginner.
- If you're going to start your own organic garden, be sure to read about how to build and maintain a compost pile: compost is an essential fertilizer for the all-natural garden. Also, don't miss findingDulcinea's Gardening Web Guide for more advice.
Dulcinea's Picks
For foragers …
Foraging.com
is an index of foraging information, tutorials and resources. You'll also find links to plant databases, books and periodicals.
Downsizer.net
publishes a number of articles on its "Finding Food" page that detail different types of wild foods and how to forage for them. You'll also find cooking tips for the foods you might find.
For those with a green thumb …
The American Community Garden Association
offers a straightforward guide to finding a community garden, as well as tips for starting your own. This network connects lots of green thumbs around the country to share resources, expertise and advice.
Organic Gardening
magazine's month-to-month, region-specific gardening almanac is a helpful resource for the amateur organic gardener. The magazine posts many of its print features for free online, including guides and tips for soil and wildlife management, landscaping and how to grow specific crops organically.
The Edible Schoolyard
's "How To" page gives parents and teachers alike the reasons to start a school garden and kitchen and the necessary resources to do so.
Food Activism
For some, food is not just a source of nutrition, but an expression of their beliefs. Several political advocacy and action groups have sprung up in the food world: below are a few organizations that voice the concerns of dedicated sustainable foodies.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Socially responsible food is not a coherent, single movement. Some groups are about the environment, some take a moralistic approach, still others are about worker's rights and economics. There's a little something for everyone. Find your niche by going to the "about," "who we are," or "our philosophy" links on different sites to glean the organization's focus.
- Your involvement with an organization will be most effective if you work locally. See if an organization you like has a chapter in your area.
Dulcinea's Picks
For food activism sites ...
The Organic Consumers Association
advocates on behalf of organic consumers and small businesses for stricter organic standards and against the control of the organic food industry by a small number of giant corporations. Their site has a number of special features such as a guide to starting your own food co-op and frequent news updates. You'll also find information on many organic-related issues, and the means to effect change both politically and in your own daily life.
The Community Alliance with Family Farmers
connects small farmers, farm workers, consumers and communities in order to create sustainable, economical, and safe local food systems. The Alliance's varied efforts include school produce programs, growers' collaboratives, policy advocacy and a "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" campaign.
The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
has numerous ways you can get involved with sustainable agriculture, by signing letters, contacting your government representatives, joining local organizations and more. Involvement with this organization allows you to make a difference on a local and federal level.
Organic Food News
Organic and socially responsible food movements thrive on the interaction and advice of thousands of growers and eaters sharing their knowledge of all natural, local and sustainable agriculture. On these sites you'll find books, articles, magazines and blogs dedicated to organic and socially responsible food.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Many CSAs publish their own newsletters or magazines. These can be especially helpful if you're looking for some advice from very local sources.
- Michael Pollan is as close to a rock star as you can be in the sustainable food journalism world. Explore his site, michaelpollan.com, for some more articles on a variety of related topics.
Dulcinea's Picks
Life Begins at 30
is an energetic blog focused mainly on local, sustainable and whole food. Peppered with beautiful photography of one woman's food and travels, this site illustrates both the exotic and the every-day delights of socially responsible food.
OrganicAuthority.com
lives up to its name with such specialized sections as "Pregnancy and Parenting." A guide, magazine, and blog in one, this site contains an enormous amount of practical organic advice.
Ethicurean
is a group-of-six blog devoted to informing you about sustainable, organic, local, and ethical food: what they call SOLE food for short. The variety in background of the authors gives the blog a well-rounded feeling, and all the authors write with an enticing air of authority and knowledge.
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