Carbon sequestration: The removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests, or soils) through physical or biological processes, such as photosynthesis.
Certified Organic: regulated by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) that can only be used if the crop is GMO-free (without genetically modified organisms) and is produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or sewage sludge. Organic food also cannot be irradiated.
Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA): a direct system in which consumers buy a share of the production from a farm or farms for the future growing season. During the growing season, that purchase ensures a weekly box of produce for the consumer either to be picked up at a specific location or sometimes delivered to the consumer’s house.
Conventional food system: foods that are grown and processed using conventional (non-organic) methods. Typically mono-cultures with a heavy emphasis on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to produce crops.
Fairtrade: producers or organizations that supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by FLO (Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International). This movement advocates higher social, environmental, and economic standards for producers in developing countries.
Free range: implies that animals are raised in the open and are free to roam. Often means that animals have had access to the outdoors for an unspecified length of time. The USDA currently regulates this term for poultry only.
GMO-free: products have been produced without the use of a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO). The use of this label is regulated by individual companies that produce, distribute, or process the product.
Heirloom: seeds and plants that are open-pollinated and not hybridized. This means that they duplicate their parent plants when germinated. Heirloom enthusiasts are concerned with expanding the genetic diversity of plants grown as food, and these seeds have been passed down through generations in that spirit. Heirloom animals are typically referred to as Heritage animals, and have been preserved genetically for many generations in the same manner as heirloom seeds.
Holistic: putting emphasis on the importance of the whole and the interdependence of the parts. An example of this is holistic ecology, which views humans and the environment as a single system.
Industrial Food System: referring to the mass production of typically animals in feedlots, where the focus is on maximizing production and minimizing cost, achieved by greatly reducing the amount of space per animal. Also referred to as Factory Farming.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM): growing practices that utilize a combination of biological, cultural, and chemical tools to control insects, diseases, and weeds. Pesticides are used at a minimum as a part of this strategy.
Locavore: a person who tries to eat food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius.
Organic: a non-GMO crop grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or sewage sludge that is not irradiated. Many growers produce organic food that is not certified and thus cannot be labeled as such.
Pastured: as opposed to free range, it is implied that these animals are raised in the open and are free to roam.
Slow food: a movement that began in Italy in response to “fast food.” The group supports and promotes a way of living and eating that members believe is both healthy and sustainable. Group members contend that people have a right to eat food that is good for them, good for the environment, and good for the growers of that food.
Sustainable: concerned with preserving the world’s natural resources for future generations. A fully sustainable industry would have zero impact, or a positive impact, on the environment. Sustainable agriculture also addresses economic and social conditions of the farm community.
