Fair Trade News

June Issue, 2006

How to Create a Life of Good Grub
By Anna Lappe

Every time we buy food, we’re voting for the world we want. Here are seven steps toward creating a culinary paradise on earth.

Fitness guru Jack La Lanne got it right more than 60 years ago when he said, "If man made it, don’t eat it!" Still going strong in his nineties, La Lanne has been following his mantra all these years, choosing a whole-foods diet and eating as few processed foods as possible. We may nod knowingly when we hear La Lanne’s exhortation, but how many of us reach for the frozen dinner? Grab that fruitless fast lunch? Scarf down a bag of chips between the office and errands? We may be familiar with the time-tested advice to eat low on the food chain. We may even have experienced glimpses of how good it feels when we choose local, in-season foods that are singing with flavor, but how many of our daily choices reflect what we know and feel, and what is best for our bodies?

Not many, if national statistics tell us anything. According to the latest estimate, half of all Americans consume less than one serving of fruit a day. And half of our already meager veggie intake comes from French fries and potato chips, iceberg lettuce, and canned tomatoes. The truth is that we live in a toxic food environment, as Yale psychology professor Kelly Brownell likes to call it. We’re paving over our farms, replacing them with Wal-Marts and golden arches. We’re bombarded by tens of thousands of television food ads every year urging us to crave — and buy — junk food. And, as the number of hours we work steadily increases, we have less and less time to spend on our food choices.

So how do we follow La Lanne’s advice? What do we do when many of our communities — and even our own kitchens — tend to be friendly to convenience food and hostile to good, honest grub? How do we make sure that our healthy eating doesn’t become too costly or too demanding on our time?

What follows are seven simple steps to help you make the choice for grub easier. If you are far along this path, consider these steps a refresher course, an affirmation. If you find these steps unfamiliar, even daunting, do what you can. Pick and choose what works for you. Remember, one step forward is still moving you in the right direction.

Grub* (grub) n.
1. Grub is organic or sustainably raised, whole, and locally grown food;
2. Grub is produced with fairness from seed to table;
3. Grub is good for our bodies, our communities, and our environment;
4. Grub is delicious and should be universal.

Step One: Get Fired Up

Every time you buy food, you’re voting for the world you want. When you choose corporate, processed foods, you’re paying for a food system gone awry, including the massive environmental cleanup of runoff from industrial farms. Factory-farmed meat operations are one of the country’s largest polluters and one of the leading contributors to global warming. Every year, these factory farms — with 1.5 trillion head of hogs, cattle, poultry, and sheep — produce nearly a billion tons of feces and urine. In the past decade alone, 35,000 miles of river were damaged by waste. Overuse of hormones and antibiotics in factory farms also further imperils our health.

When you buy grub, you’re supporting the production of food that doesn’t poison our farmers, farm workers, or environment, but preserves biodiversity, rural communities, and food security. Every time we choose grub, we’re making the healthy choice — not just for our bodies, but for the planet as well. To learn more about the impact of industrial farming on the environment, visit sustainabletable.org.

Step Two: Look for the Labels

Thankfully, we now have labels to look for to help us know grub when we see it. But we have to stay on our toes. As interest in grub grows, the food industry has begun to develop its own labels which are confusing at best, deceptive at worst. The "Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly" seal piloted several years ago called itself the "only science-based seal of approval that supports both farm economics and protects the environment without added costs to consumers." Sounds good, right? Well, it was actually developed by the Hudson Institute, a think tank funded by chemical and agrochemical multinationals. Makes you wonder what "friendly" really means.

If you find yourself scratching your head in the grocery store aisle as you contemplate a seal you’ve never seen before, consult the Center for Science and the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that tracks "nutri-washing" in the food industry, or visit eco-labels.org, a project of the Consumers Union.

Here are three labels you’ll be seeing more of … and a little explanation about what they mean.

USDA Organic

Since 2002, the United States has had an official label for organic farming production. Organic-certified production prohibits GMOs and irradiation as well as the use of pesticides and sewage sludge. In order to become certified, farmers must confirm they’ve foregone these products for at least three years. Organic farmers also promote soil health by employing soil-building and conservation practices, manure management, and crop rotation. Organic livestock must only eat organic feed and have outdoor access and pasture for livestock. All certified organic farms are required to keep detailed production records and submit to ongoing monitoring.

Note: Look for "100% organic ingredients." That’s your guarantee that products were made from solely organic ingredients. By law, companies are allowed to include five percent approved, non-organic ingredients in any product with the seal.

Get involved with the Organic Consumers Association to maintain the integrity of organics in the face of attempts to dilute their standards. Visit organicconsumers.org and cornucopia.org to learn more.

Fair-Trade Certified

You may have seen this black-and-white logo adorning everything from boxes of tea to pounds of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. This seal confirms that producers were guaranteed a fair floor price, similar to our minimum wage, for their product.

Fair-trade-certified products provide farmers economic security and an essential source of income. Fair trade started in Europe in the 1980s, and in 1999, the United States began its own certification process. In just over five years, fair trade products bought in the United States have helped channel more than $55 million in additional income to more than 800,000 farmers and their families in more than 50 countries. You can now find fair trade coffee, tea, fruit, chocolate, rice, and sugar, and if you don’t see it in your local stores, ask for it.

For further learning, visit transfairusa.org.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local

The typical grocery item is jet-lagged and weary after traveling hundreds — and often thousands — of miles to get to your shopping cart. But your food doesn’t have to be. Not all food is labeled with a country of origin, so ask your store manager and look for specialty local labels, like the regional "Buy Fresh/Buy Local."

For more information, visit foodroutes.org.

To see five more steps plus the best ingredients for a grub pantry and a grub blessing, request a no-obligation free trial issue of Spirituality & Health.