Massachusetts Charter Public School Association’s Post

Get inspired this summer with Food Tank's top 20 reads on sustainable agriculture and food systems! These books are perfect for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of sustainable practices. 🌱📚 Here are some of our favorites from the list: A Call to Farms: Reconnecting to Nature, Food, and Community in a Modern World by Jennifer Grayson documents the regenerative, sustainable practices emerging farmers are committed to using to help reverse climate degradation and inequity. Barefoot Biodynamics: How Cows, Compost, and Community Help Us Understand Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course by Jeff Poppen integrates stories from his time in rural Tennessee in his guide to biodynamic principles and practices. Food Systems of the Future by the Scientific American Editors explores new, innovative, and sometimes controversial methods to ensure a sustainable food system in the face of climate change. How to Create a Sustainable Food Industry: A Practical Guide to Perfect Food by Melissa Barrett, Massimo Marino, Francesca Brkic, and Carlo Alberto Pratesi explain the sustainability of specific food products, using real-world examples to debunk the myths surrounding the food system. Ravenous: How to get ourselves and our planet into shape by Henry Dimbleby explores how behind-the-scenes forces operate in the food system, impacting the environment and human health. Enjoy your #SummerReading #SustainableAgriculture #SummerReads #OrganicFarming #FoodSystems

📣 In this latest op-ed from Thomson Reuters the CGF's Health and Sustainability Director Sharon Bligh and World Wildlife Fund's Alex Nichols-Vinueza, share more about the recently launched Global Farm Loss Tool. Equipping growers, they share, with an easy-to-use tool to track, address and ultimately reduce their food loss can help them utilise more of what they grow and cut the carbon emissions and environmental impact of the food system. 👩🌾 "It all comes back to equipping growers with a simple and actionable tool to measure food loss. If we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it." 🔗 Read the full article: https://bit.ly/3Xsf7pU

Corporate sustainability goes beyond just reducing greenhouse gas emissions! The Institute for Feed Education and Research just launched a new resource defining and outlining 16 material issue areas identified as important for consideration in animal food industry sustainability efforts. What's included? 📖 A description of each material issue 📶The potential value of the issue to the animal food industry 🔎Industry examples identifying the value, action and benefit of an issue from an industry member’s perspective Check it out now at ifeeder.org/materialissues

A new study highlights the urgent need to address meat loss and waste (MLW), revealing that 18 billion animals are slaughtered annually for food that never gets consumed. By incorporating #animalwelfare into their analysis, #researchers emphasize the unnecessary suffering and #environmentalimpact caused by MLW. Reducing MLW by 50% could save 8.8 billion lives, underscoring the importance of #compassionate, #sustainable #foodsystems for both the planet and its inhabitants. 🐄🐖🐓

DID YOU KNOW⁉️ 18 billion animals are slaughtered each year for food that never gets consumed? This staggering statistic highlights the urgent need to address meat loss and waste (MLW) and the immense suffering and environmental damage it causes. The scale of this waste is both shocking and deeply troubling. Reducing MLW by 50% could save 8.8 billion lives and significantly lessen our environmental impact. By embracing #animalwelfare and supporting #sustainable #foodsystems, we can move towards a more compassionate and eco-friendly future. It’s time to confront these issues and make meaningful changes. Faunalytics #NewEarth #VoteYourConscience #2024Election #Animalliberation

Check out the April Food for Others blog highlighting the eco-conscious efforts we implement to reduce our impact on the environment. Sustainable practices are key to creating an equitable food system. The correlation between global food insecurity and environmental degradation is undeniable - with the most impacted populations being those that directly rely on agriculture and natural resources for both economic stability and food sources. #EarthDay #ClimateChange #GlobalFoodSecurity

Happy #EarthDay2024! To celebrate, we're taking a look at the farm-to-table movement and how these restaurants are teaching diners to be environmentally conscious. The farm-to-table movement began in the early 1970s as a response to the highly-processed foods available in the 1950s and 1960s. The first chef to open a true farm-to-table restaurant was Alice Waters a sustainable farming advocate who launched Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California in 1971. The concept quickly caught on and now, fifty years later, farm-to-table restaurants are nurturing local producers and building strong, reliable food systems in communities across North America. What sets farm-to-table restaurants apart? 1️⃣ Ingredient Sourcing: Farm-to-table restaurants offer rotating menus that showcase local and seasonal ingredients, which tend to be fresher, grown without pesticides and hormones, and of a higher overall quality. 2️⃣ Sustainable Model: Farm-to-table restaurants source locally, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps protect the soil, groundwater, and important species like bees. 3️⃣ Supplier Relationships: Farm-to-table chefs develop strong connections directly with food producers and help nurture growth in their home communities. Read more about farm-to-table restaurants at https://lnkd.in/gSKtfW6P and tag your favourite local spot in the comments! ⬇️

Building a sustainable and fair food system benefiting people and the planet is becoming increasingly important and #NorthCarolina businesses are answering the call to put Environmental, Social and Governance practices, or #ESG, at the top of their business priorities. In #Durham, Firsthand Foods  is highlighting how it is tackling sustainability in its supply chain. Tina Prevatte Levy, chief operating officer of Firsthand Foods, explained how it sources meat from family farms and distributes it to local markets, reducing the negative environmental impacts commonly associated with industrial farming. "I think that our environmental impacts are really embedded in the production practices that we require of our farmers," Levy explained. "All of our animals are raised outdoors on pasture rather than in confinement or in feedlots and so we're eliminating a lot of the negative environmental consequences of those systems." In line with its mission to sustainability, she noted Firsthand Foods also addresses the issue of food miles. Research has shown the longer food travels, the more emissions are generatedto get it to consumers. In the United States, it's estimated meals travel roughly 1,500 miles from farm to plate. Read the entire story below.

We're excited to announce 14 new Recommendations for wild-caught B.C. Salmon under our sustainable seafood label. These Recommendations are the result of our unique new assessment process which combines the best of scientific data with real world knowledge.   British Columbia’s salmon industry holds both economic power and cultural significance. However, in the absence of eco-labels like Ocean Wise, buyers struggle to differentiate between sustainable and unsustainable options.   Being able to recognize sustainable seafood options from local harvesters, allowing consumers to support ocean-friendly choices, is a vital step for growing local sustainable seafood markets – driving more dollars back into local communities. https://lnkd.in/g8tweT4X

Sustainability is increasingly being recognised as a key priority for food businesses around the world. It helps reduce environmental impact, improves social outcomes and builds financial security. But it is also a term used more and more without people understanding what it really is.   That's why our Agriculture & Animal Welfare Specialist, Kate Williams, has analysed the benefits of sustainability KPIs in this article looking at the 7 steps to follow when setting them up...