Council for Healthy Food Systems

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  • About Us
    • Mission Statement
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Healthy People
    • What is ‘Real Food?’
    • Finding ‘Real Food’
    • True Costs of Food
    • Case Study – Apples
    • Kids and Food
  • Healthy Environment
    • Placing a Value on Nature
    • The Food-Environment Connection
    • Next Steps
  • Healthy Animals
    • Poultry
    • Meat
    • Seafood
    • Case Study – Eggs
  • Healthy Soil
    • Soil’s Role in Drought Mitigation
    • Healthy Soil & Human Health
    • Soil Health Research
    • Healthy Soil & Flood Reduction
    • Additional reading
  • Resources
    • COVID-19: Resources for Farmers & Consumers
  • Programs/Events
    • Profiting from Pastured Animals Workshops
    • Profiting Through Conservation for Texas Farmers
    • ‘Chefs for Local Farmers’ S.A.
    • The Larry Butler Memorial Scholarship

The Food-Environment Connection

How can each of us make food choices that improve – rather than degrade – our environment. Here’s where you can start:

Mark Shepard’s New Forest Farm, a premier example of “permaculture,” or farming for land restoration.

Develop a practice of asking questions. Farmers markets, for example, offer a unique opportunity to have a person-to-person encounter with those growing and raising produce and meats. Many farmers encountered at a local market are using regenerative practices … methods that ensure that the soil life is tended to and encouraged to flourish, building nutrient rich soils that sustain our health now and into the future. It offers the opportunity to learn about health-promoting production methods like organic farming, permaculture, pasture-based farming, carbon farming, dry land farming, foraging and wild harvesting, just to name a few.

Purchase food in season, in a whole (or less processed) form. This reduces wasteful packaging that inundates landfills and pollutes waterways, and it can serve as a reminder of the resources and extensive labor that brought our food from the land to the plate.

In essence, experiencing food in a holistic way can foster a re-connection to the well-being of the environment.

Learn about other ways to make a difference.

Case Studies:

  • Case in Point – Apples
  • Case in Point – Eggs
  • Case in Point – Raw Milk

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