Posts Tagged: sustainability

Avoid 'race to the bottom' in seafood sustainability

As the global demand for seafood booms, major food retailers are promising that soon all of the fresh, frozen, farmed and wild seafood that they sell will come from sustainable sources. However, finding such sustainable sources to satisfy the global appetite for seafood is easier said than done.

While many of the sustainability standards have been met by commercial fisheries in the developed world, a major challenge exists in fisheries overseen by developing nations, which account for about half of all seafood entering the international market. Unfortunately, only 7 percent of the fisheries that have been fully certified by the Marine Stewardship Council for meeting sustainability standards are developing-nation fisheries.

An alternative mechanism for achieving both sustainability and increased seafood supply has been developed in the form of Fishery Improvement Projects, which aim to get fisheries on a path to sustainability and potentially certification by the MSC.

These improvement projects are partnerships between fishermen and firms up and down the international seafood supply chain. They are designed to offer developing-country fisheries access to the lucrative international export market in exchange for promises to improve sustainable fishing practices.

“It is hoped that the projects will protect marine life and ecosystems in areas where local and national governments have not acted to oversee sustainable practices, while also satisfying the demand for sustainable seafood,” said Gabriel Sampson, UC Davis graduate student and lead author of the study.

In many cases, however, the fisheries are obtaining access to the international seafood markets without following through to make the required improvements in sustainability. 

In a May 1 policy forum titled “Secure Sustainable Seafood from Developing Countries” in the journal Science, Sampson and colleagues conclude that Fishery Improvement Projects need to be fine tuned to ensure that fisheries are delivering on their promises for sustainability improvements. The related abstract and podcast are available online.

Such sustainable fishery management reforms should include data collection and ongoing monitoring, strengthening harvest and access rights to the resources, limits on the catch, and instituting traceability throughout the supply chain, the researchers say.

They predict that if access to the fisheries is not better regulated, the current efforts by retailers to secure sustainable, wild-caught seafood could stimulate a “race to fish,” and those fisheries with full sustainability certification could find themselves at a competitive disadvantage compared to the fisheries that have been fast-tracked into the international market without having first made sustainability improvements.

And that could trigger a “race to the bottom” in terms of sustainable seafood fishing practices, they say.

“The retailers and organizations involved with managing fishery improvement projects need to insist on progress toward reforms from the fishery as a condition for purchasing seafood from that fishery,” said James Sanchirico, a faculty member with the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Ag Experiment Station, UC Davis professor and associate director of the UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute.

“This would likely lead to more durable conservation and greater assurance for consumers that marketing claims of ‘sustainable' seafood are valid,” he said.

UC Davis tomatoes provide year-round healthful eating for college students

Today's dorm food is far superior to the tasteless, over-processed foods of decades past. No more mystery meat or mushy vegetables. Campus dining services across the country are providing a diversity of fresher and healthier foods, much to the delight of food-savvy students who want variety, flavor, and nutritious choices. Well... being students, they don't always make the healthiest choices, but educational programs at campus dorms are turning the tide toward more-healthful eating.

At the same time, chefs and food buyers at universities, particularly the University of California, are selecting for high-quality fruits and vegetables, produced locally and sustainably. Universities with strong food sustainability programs are rightfully proud of what they're doing to educate students about food production, health, and nutrition. UC Davis Dining Services prioritizes the purchase of locally grown food (ideally within a 50-mile radius of campus). Most University of California campuses have similar programs.

At UC Davis, fresh roma tomatoes are picked each August from the 300-acre Russell Ranch, part of the campus's Agricultural Sustainability Institute, then processed within hours by campus Dining Services to provide year-round tomato sauce for pizza, pasta, and ratatouille. All told, 10,000 pounds of tomatoes are processed during a two-week period in August. About 29 percent of the total food served in the campus's residential dining halls is from local, organic or sustainable sources.

The tomatoes grown at Russell Ranch are part of a long-term academic research project that examines factors such as farming methods, irrigation needs, crop rotations, yield, and nutritional content. At the end of the growing season, some of the many tons of tomatoes are purchased by Dining Services at market value.

Emma Torbert, an academic coordinator at the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute, noted, “Connecting the food system to the research is really interesting. A lot of times there is confusion about where our food is coming from. The more people are educated, the more educated decisions they can make.”

Many UC Davis faculty and staff are so impressed with the food choices at the dorms that they purchase individual meal tickets and enjoy lunches made with the campus-grown tomatoes, herbs, and other vegetables, all of which are part of the daily food array. Public dinners are also offered periodically at the dorms so that community members can sit amongst students to taste and learn about the sustainability programs in the dorms.

Additional Information:

• Video: Farm to Table, UC Davis Tomatoes; 2010
• Slide show of this year's UC Davis tomato harvesting and processing system; 2014
• Sustainable Foodservice Progress Report 2014, UC Davis Dining Services
• Two videos of UC Davis students who work at the Student Farm to produce food, including one on tomato sauce production
• “Tomatoes: Safe methods to store, preserve, and enjoy.” UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, free publication

President Napolitano launches UC Global Food Initiative

On July 1, the University of California announced our new Global Food Initiative to address one of the critical issues of our time: How to sustainably and nutritiously feed a world population expected to reach eight billion by 2025.

UC's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is already a critical partner with California's farmers and consumers, providing growers and ranchers with scientifically tested production techniques, educating families about nutrition, improving food safety and addressing environmental concerns. With programs in every California county, our research and extension network in California reaches from Tulelake to El Centro and more than 130 countries working to solve agricultural problems at home and abroad.

The initiative will align the university's research, outreach and operations in a sustained effort to develop, demonstrate and export solutions — throughout California, the U.S. and the world — for food security, health and sustainability.

Check below for some key highlights from UC ANR and our 10 campuses. For more information about the initiative, visit: http://www.ucop.edu/initiatives/global-food-initiative.html

UC ANR 

• In the past 10 years, 500 million citrus trees have been grown from disease-free budwood provided by Lindcove Research and Extension Center (REC).
• Desert REC has 1,300 carrot varieties in production for USDA's carrot improvement program.
• California became one of the leading producers of fresh blueberries after UCCE researchers identified varieties that could thrive in California, so long as the growers acidify the soils and maintain acidic conditions in the irrigation water.
• 5,400 UC Master Gardener volunteers play a key role in helping Californians grow food in their own backyard, working in 50 California counties to teach research-based gardening techniques that minimize the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Currently, more than 1,200 community, school and demonstration gardens in California are managed by UC Master Gardeners.
• Through our Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program (also known as SNAP-ED), UC Cooperative Extension works with community agencies and schools todeliver nutrition education to low-income families, improving their health and food security and helping preventchildhood obesity. EFNEP and CalFresh programs are currently operated in 33 counties reach 222,000 members of the public each year.

UC Berkeley

• The Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) is an interdisciplinary institute launched in 2013 dedicated to research, education, policy initiatives and practices to support sustainable food and agriculture systems. BFI is catalyzing and fostering transformative changes in food systems, to promote resilience, justice, diversity and health, from local to global scales.
• The Atkins Center for Weight and Health (CWH) works with community groups to develop and evaluate programs to support healthy eating and active living, with a focus on children and families in diverse communities.

UC Davis

• As the largest UC campus, with more than 3,000 acres specifically devoted to agricultural research and teaching, UC Davis is addressing the pressing food and agricultural challenges that face California, the nation and the world.
• In addition to the World Food Center, UC Davis hosts 26 centers with a significant emphasis on agriculture and food, including the UC Agricultural Issues Center, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, Center for Produce Safety, Foods for Health Institute, Seed Biotechnology Center, Postharvest Technology Center, Plant Breeding Center, Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, Center for Food Animal Health, and Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.
• In April, UC Davis unveiled the largest anaerobic biodigester on a college campus, using technology invented by one of its engineering professors to turn organic waste into renewable energy. The system, now in commercial use, is designed to daily convert 50 tons of organic waste to 12,000 kWh of renewable electricity, diverting 20,000 tons of waste from local landfills each year. 

UC Irvine

• Anthropologist Michael Montoya leads the Community Knowledge Project, an action-research partnership with community organizations in Santa Ana. Past projects have tackled obesity prevention and school lunch/food access. Upcoming project on diabetes prevention in Fullerton. 
• In AY 2014-15, the Sustainability Initiative, in conjunction with social ecologist John Whiteley and UC Irvine's oceans faculty, will host a regional conference at the National Academies of Sciences' Beckman Center on Ocean Health, Sustainable Fishing, and Food Security.
• The Sustainability Initiative convenes The Garden Project, which coordinates the four campus community gardens (three of which are student-run) and builds links with the broader community involved in sustainable food production in Orange County, particularly in low-income communities.

UCLA

• The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the UCLA–USC Center for Population and Health Disparities — among other centers — are actively involved in research and community projects to help improve food availability and security.
• The Student Food Collective holds farmers markets in UCLA's main plaza and manages a food-buying co-op. Multiple produce gardens on campus increase sustainability practices, provide more healthful options and serve as educational tools to facilitate healthy lifestyle choices by the campus and surrounding community.
• The UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden promotes plant diversity and ecologically sound practices.
• UCLA faculty, students and staff collaborate with LAUSD food services and medical staff on research and programs to promote healthy eating for the school district's 600,000 students. 

UC Merced

• Public Health Professor A. Susana Ramirez and her students this summer will interview with customers at a mobile farmer's market that travels to different parts of Merced County to better understand food access issues facing Merced County residents, and the relationship between access to healthy foods and obesity.
• UC Merced is working to form a Farmers Consortium to promote the campus's interest in doing business with local farmers, in addition to direct communication with local farms.
• UC Merced's 400-square-foot community garden was developed on campus in spring 2014 by Engineers for a Sustainable World. Fruit and vegetables harvested will be donated to local food banks. The site will eventually be used for education and outreach.
• The campus's Early Childhood Education Center serves as a delivery point for Rancho Piccolo, a community- supported agriculture. Many faculty and staff are members and are able to get local, fresh fruit and vegetables every week. 

UC Riverside 

• A chemist has applied chemical tests to juice products sold as pomegranate juice or pomegranate juice blends, in order to authenticate their content. Another researcher is studying the effects of pomegranate juice on prostate cancer progression. 

UC San Diego 

• Food and Fuel for the 21st Century supports the development of innovative, sustainable and commercially viable solutions for the renewable production of food, energy, green chemistry and bio-products using photosynthetic organisms — including converting solar energy into food and fuel, without the use of fossil fuels.
• Department of Literature students can enroll in “The Politics of Food” course that utilizes UC San Diego campus gardens for summer research. Students learn how community gardens are governed, planting their own seedlings and identifying campus markets for the produce they grow. In the Division of Biological Sciences, courses such as “Fundamentals of Plant Biology” introduce students to plant genetic engineering, plant disease and stress and sustainable agriculture.
• The UC San Diego School of Medicine's Child Development and Community Health program initiatives include Network for a Healthy California: Campaigns and programs focus on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity levels and food security among low-income families. Healthy Works: This program initiates new farmers markets, promotes additional school and community gardens and helps residents to stay physically active and eat nutritious foods.

UCSF 

• In 2009, UCSF launched the Smart Choice Smart U program http://smartchoice.ucsf.edu) in partnership with MyFitnessPal, a leading mobile application and website and Fitbit, an activity tracker, that combines food tracking with physical activity to give real-time feedback about personal wellness goals.

UC Santa Cruz 

• The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) at UC Santa Cruz has developed cutting-edge programs in food systems and organic farming research and extension, national and international work in agroecology, and a renowned apprenticeship program.
• The nearly 1,500 graduates of its Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture have carried hands-on experience into teaching, farming and advocacy positions worldwide for more than 45 years.
• An on-site affiliate, Life Lab, uses the Farm for K–12 school tours, teacher trainings, summer camps, and the “Food What?” youth empowerment program.
• The Central Coast School Food Alliance (CCSFA) is a collaborative initiative that serves school children fresh and wholesome food in Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties. Stakeholders include food service directors, non-profit leaders on community food systems development, researchers, educators, as well as elected local, state, and federal officials.

World Food Center at UC Davis will tackle global issues

When you think casually of “food,” you may think of your next meal or your favorite food. “World food” may broaden your thinking to include international cuisines, global hunger, or a growing population. But the academic fields related to food are numerous. Food is one of life’s basic necessities, and along with its associated issues it is essential to the health and well-being of everyone, whatever their locale, education, or income level.

The new World Food Center at UC Davis will take on a broad purview related to food, including sustainable agricultural and environmental practices, food security and safety, hunger, poverty reduction through improved incomes, health and nutrition, population growth, new foods, genomics, food distribution systems, food waste, intellectual property distribution related to food, economic development and new technologies and policies.

With rapid global population growth occurring on smaller amounts of arable land, coupled with the expected impacts of climate change on food production, understanding the sustainability of food into the future is critical.

The new center’s website notes, “The World Food Center at UC Davis takes a ‘big picture’ approach to sustainably solving humanity’s most pressing problems in food and health. By bringing together world-class scientists with innovators, philanthropists and industry and public leaders, the center will generate the kind of visionary knowledge and practical policy solutions that will feed and nurture people for decades to come.”

In establishing the World Food Center, UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said, “We did this to fully capitalize on our depth and expertise as the world’s leading university for education, research and scholarship on all aspects of food, but especially the nexus between food and health.”

UC Davis is the top-ranked agricultural university in the world, and California is the major producer of vegetables and fruit in the nation. Tom Tomich, director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute and professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis, says of the World Food Center’s location at UC Davis, “There’s no place else that has the right mix of educational programs, research facilities, and the engagement with the state.”

The major academic disciplines surrounding food are found at UC Davis — agriculture, the environment, medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, social and cultural sciences, and management. More than 30 centers and institutes at UC Davis will be pulled together through the World Food Center. The combination of scholarship, leadership, and partnerships at UC Davis has already established the campus as a center for food-related science and outreach. This new center will reinforce that strength and broaden the university’s ability to tackle tough global issues related to food.

Although the founding director of the center has yet to be named, Josette Lewis, Ph.D., was recently appointed as the associate director of the World Food Center. Her background on international research and development for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and director of its Office of Agriculture, honed her skills to take on the World Food Center. It was at US AID that she worked on a major global hunger and food security initiative, establishing her expertise on issues related to global agricultural development and food security.

As the new World Food Center becomes fully developed, it will be well-positioned on campus to continue to solve the major global issues related to food that are a hallmark of UC Davis.

Additional information:

• World Food Center website
• UC Davis video on the World Food Center
• Key facts
• UC Davis Dateline article
• Sacramento Bee article

How do we sustainably feed 8 billion people by 2025?

Some of us spent our weekend in the garden or at the farmers market, obsessing over our fresh produce that will get us through the week. Some of us went to bed last night dreaming about a Frostie from Wendy’s and fries from McDonald’s. Still, others of us spent the weekend trying to make ends meet and scraping together barely enough food to feed our families. Bottom line – food is something we all have in common. It’s a universal language. Whether we pride ourselves on eating local and organic, constantly find ourselves in the fast food lines, or stress about how to feed our families each day, food joins us all together.

All 6, almost 7, billion of us.

But what happens when there are 8 billion of us? Will more and more of us spend our weekends trying to scrape together enough food? Will more and more of us start our own gardens and obsess over our fresh produce? Will farmers markets become the new Ralphs? Will we have enough water to feed ourselves? Will we have enough land? How do we sustainably feed 8 billion people by 2025?

“We’re going to have to produce more food in the next 40 years than we have the last 10,000. Some people say we’ll just add more land or more water. But we’re not going to (be able to) do much of either,” says William Lesher, former USDA chief economist.

This is a global issue. But as Californian's and residents of the world’s top agricultural producer, what is our role in meeting these challenges? On April 9, 2013, producers, geo-politicists, ethicists, economists, humanists and many others from around the world will come together to discuss the challenges surrounding our global food systems at the UCANR Statewide Conference: Global Food Systems Forum.

The Global Food Systems Forum will feature Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and president of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, and Wes Jackson, founder and president of The Land Institute, as the keynote speakers. The program will include a Global Panel, discussing key issues such as resource limitations, ethnical quandaries, climate change, responsibilities, etc. A California Panel will also take place, tackling issues such as California responsibilities, productivity, policies, markets and research.

But this conversation isn’t just about UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. It’s about all of us. We all need to take a stand and advocate for our food. If you watch what you eat, you should join the conversation. If you love what you eat, you should join the conversation. If you worry about how you will eat in the future, you should join the conversation.

The public is invited to participate in this one-day event via a live online webcast. You can also join the ongoing conversation on twitter by following the hashtag #Food2025. Make your voice heard. Stand up for your food, and help shape our future global food systems.

Learn more about the Global Food Systems Forum and register to watch the live webcast at food2025.ucanr.edu. 

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