Deconstructing Dinner

Agronomy The challenge for the agronomist is to understand, manage and protect earth's vital resources as well as using science and natural resources to sustain food supply and environmental issues. The interesting thing about Agronomy is that just about everyone is aware of it, yet most people have no idea what it is called. Agronomy is the science, economics, and application of soil and plant production with a strong emphasis in land management. More and more people are going back to farming and agriculture, thus studying Agronomy in school to earn the appropriate degree. Typically, the field of Agronomy focuses on agriculture and its processes.

Biodynamics is a method of organic agriculture with three key principles: 1) the farm is a sustainable ecosystem in itself, 2) the use of biodynamic preparations enhance activities in the compost and 3) soil, and the sun, moon, planets and constellations� dynamic forces on the plants nourish humans physically, spiritually and emotionally.

Bioregionalism is a philosophy in which human behaviour is based in, focused on and appropriate to its regional ecosystem.

Biotechnology/Genetic Engineering (GMO) is the deliberate manipulation and alteration of genetic materials without respect for natural boundaries or the integrity of the organism, at whatever level or stage. The intent of biotechnology is to force an organism to do or become something it otherwise would not. In current practice, the aim is to increase the profit of the corporations owning the processes and the products. In reference to food, GE has primarily been used to engineer widely grown crop plants (canola, corn and soy) to be resistant to the herbicides sold by the corporations owning the transgenic seeds. These plants, and all products produced from them, are thus guaranteed to have been sprayed at least with the designated herbicide in addition to being genetically engineered.

Certified Organic denotes products that have met strict guidelines, set up by government approved certifying associations, when grown, processed and handled. The term organic tends to refer to foods that are not produced using synthetic fertilizers or chemicals, and cannot be irradiated or genetically modified. Organic meat comes from animals that have been fed organic feed and in some cases have been raised in an environment that allows for normal interactions with other animals. Organic can also refer to more humane methods of slaughter.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs enable farms to share the risk and abundance of producing food with the consumer by selling consumers a share of the season�s harvest in the springtime and then supplying the consumers with weekly produce rations throughout the harvest season.

Cooperatives are businesses owned and run jointly by their members. They exist in many forms, however, members generally pay a fee to belong, have special buying privileges and receive annual shares of the profits.

Dumpster Diving This technique involves rummaging through the garbage of retailers, residences, offices, and other facilities for useful goods. Despite our society's stereotypes about garbage, the goods recovered by freegans are safe, useable, clean, and in perfect or near-perfect condition, a symptom of a throwaway culture that encourages us to constantly replace our older goods with newer ones, and where retailers plan high-volume product disposal as part of their economic model.

Fair Trade is a commitment to social justice in which employees and farmers are treated and paid fairly, sustainable environmental practices are followed and long-term trade relationships are fostered.

Food Miles (or Kilometres) are the distances food travels from the farm to your plate. The concept is used to underline how far many foods are transported through global trade and the costs of this transport, in economic, social, and environmental terms. When foods are transported long distances, they tend to lose taste and nutrient value because of the time and conditions in transit. Transport also consumes fuel and releases pollution. Freight transport is a key source of greenhouse gas emissions, which are a cause of global warming. more

Food Security as defined by The BC Food Systems Network is a community in which all people, at all times, have access to nutritious, safe, personally acceptable and culturally appropriate foods, produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just.

Food Sovereignty is the human right of all peoples and nations to grow food in ways that are culturally, ecologically and economically appropriate for them.

Free Range usually refers to poultry and only means that the chickens have access to the outside. It does not necessarily mean that the chickens roam and forage freely outside.

Gene Flow the movement of genes from one population of plants to another, usually via pollination.

Grain-fed animals have been raised on a diet of grain and the grain could be supplemented with animal byproducts and other miscellaneous matter. Since mad cow disease is thought to be transmitted through animal byproducts added to cattle feed, cows raised on a strictly vegetarian diet are preferred by many consumers. Cattle are ruminants and eat grass; they cannot digest grains properly and can become sick if fed a diet of only grain. Although large-scale, confined grain feedlots enable industrial meat producers to fatten their animals quickly, they also foster disease within the cattle population, creating the need for antibiotics and increasing the risk of E. Coli contamination.

The Green Revolution was the shift in agriculture practices post World War II that made chemical agriculture the norm world wide.

Heirloom Varieties are types of vegetables and fruits grown from open-pollinated seeds and that have long standing records of good performance. Many have been passed from generation to generation for centuries and represent the diversity of produce that has been grown all over the world.

Hybrid Seeds result from the breeding of two different plants to produce a single more economically viable plant, eg. varieties with a longer shelf life. They are rarely stabilized, thus do not produce saveable seed of their own. This forces the farmer to buy new seeds each year.

Industrial Agriculture views the farm as a factory with "inputs" (such as pesticides, feed, fertilizer, and fuel) and "outputs" (corn, chickens, and so forth). The goal is to increase yield (such as bushels per acre) and decrease costs of production, usually by exploiting economies of scale... more

Irradiation is a process of food preservation using either electron beams or high-speed gamma rays to affect the food. It destroys some vitamins and enzymes in the food, creates free radicals which may react with cell membranes of the human body causing them to function poorly, and may leave a trace amount of radioactivity in certain foods.

Mono-Cropping is the planting of a single crop on a farm. This is common practice in modern agriculture, where large acreages of crops are grown for sale to other regions or countries. Monocultures deplete the soil, and fruits and vegetables become more susceptible to pests and disease than those grown in a diverse crop environment, thus requiring larger amounts of chemical sprays.

Open-Pollinated Seeds are the result of nature�s own life cycle where plants naturally go to seed. The plants of these seeds will produce the same seed year after year.

Permaculture is the design of sustainable human habitats. It is based on the observation of natural systems and uses ecological principles to increase diversity and productivity of local human ecosystems. Permaculture designs incorporate food, energy, and shelter for people and animals while linking the needs and outputs of each element of the system. The result is a dynamic yet stable system that sustains itself. Permaculture designs can be developed for any climate and on any scale, from balconies to entire villages.

Sustainable Agriculture is defined as agriculture that meets the needs of the current generation while conserving resources for the use of future generations... more

Transitional refers to the first three years in which a farm is following certified organic guidelines. This period enables the farmer to develop a deeper understanding of organic practices, connects him or her to peers and resources in the organic community and enables the certifying body to build a healthy working relationship with the farmers. T1, T2 & T3 refer to the first, second and third year the business has been following certified organic standards.

sources:
"BC The Organic Way", Via Campesina, answers.com, Union of Concerned Scientists, Sustainable Table, Freegan.info, LifeCycles Project