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Terminology
Terminology
Biodynamic Agriculture/Biodynamic Farming
Both a concept and a practice, biodynamics "owes its origin to the spiritual insights and perceptions of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and scientist who lived at the turn of the century." Dr. Steiner emphasized many of the forces within living nature, identifying many of these factors and describing specific practices and preparations that enable the farmer or gardener to work in concert with these parameters. "Central to the biodynamic method... are certain herbal preparations that guide the decomposition processes in manures and compost." [1985-1986 Year End Report (Kimberton PA: Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association, Inc., 1986), p. 3. AFSIC collection] See also: "What is Biodynamics?" Available at Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association On-line Website: http://www.biodynamics.com/biodynamics.html (8/23/07).
Foods produced through biodynamic methods are certified for consumer markets by the Demeter Association. [For information: Demeter Association, http://www.demeter-usa.org (8/23/07)].
Biointensive Gardening/Mini-farming
John Jeavons and Ecology Action have refined a production system that makes it possible for one person to grow all of his or her family's food using truly sustainable methods that maintain the fertility of the soil without relying on nonrenewable resources like petrochemicals or imported organic matter. [From: John Jeavons, How To Grow More Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, And Other Crops On Less Land Than You Can Imagine (Berkeley CA: Ten Speed Press, 1995). NAL Call # SB324.5 J43 1995] The concepts and practices of biointensive gardening were synthesized and introduced to the U.S. by the English master horticulturalist, Alan Chadwick. Important components include double-dug, raised beds; intensive planting; composting; companion planting; and whole system synergy. [Biointensive: A Sustainable Solution To Growing Food (Ecology Action). Available at Ecology Action Website: http://www.growbiointensive.org/grow_bio.html (8/23/07)]
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
"In basic terms, CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing." [Suzanne DeMuth, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC), National Agricultural Library (NAL), USDA, 1993. Available at AFSIC Website: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csadef.shtml (8/23/07)]
See also: Community Supported Agriculture Resources, AFSIC. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml (8/23/07)
Food Miles
The distance food travels from where it is grown or raised to where it is ultimately purchased by the consumer or end-user. "Local food systems can reduce ‘food miles’ and transportation costs, offering significant energy savings. Consumers also benefit from fresher, better-tasting, and more nutritious food, while more food dollars stay within rural communities." [Reducing Food Miles, ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Available at ATTRA Website: http://attra.ncat.org/farm_energy/food_miles.html (8/23/07)]
Free range
Free range (or free roaming) implies that a meat or poultry product comes from an animal that was raised out of confinement or was free to roam. Its use on beef is unregulated and there is no standard definition of this term. USDA requires that poultry have access to the outdoors but for an undetermined period each day. "Free range" claims on eggs are not regulated.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
GMOs are plants and animals that have had their genetic make up altered to exhibit traits that are not naturally theirs. In general, genes are taken (copied) from one organism that shows a desired trait and transferred into the genetic code of another organism. Genetic modification is currently allowed in conventional farming.
Grass-fed
The diet of grass-fed animals consists of freshly grazed pasture during the growing season and stored grasses (hay or grass silage) during the winter months or drought conditions. Grass feeding is used with cattle, sheep, goats, and bison. (Other terms for “grass-fed" products include "pasture-raised," "pasture-finished," and "grass-finished.")
Heirloom
Heirloom crop varieties, also called farmers' varieties or traditional varieties, have been developed by farmers through years of cultivation, selection, and seed saving, and passed down through generations.
Locavore
A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius such as 50, 100, or 150 miles (240 km). The localvore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to produce their own food, with the argument that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locally grown food is an environmentally friendly means of obtaining food, since supermarkets that import their food use more fossil fuels and non-renewable resources.
Local/Community Food System
A community food system, also known as a local food system, "is a collaborative effort to integrate agricultural production with food distribution to enhance the economic, environmental, and social well-being of a particular place (i.e. a neighborhood, city, county or region)." [Gail Feenstra and Dave Campbell, "Steps for Developing a Sustainable Community Food System," Pacific Northwest Sustainable Agriculture: Farming for Profit & Stewardship (Winter 1996-97) 8(4): pp. 1,6]
"One of the primary assumptions underlying the sustainable diet concept is that foods are produced, processed, and distributed as locally as possible. This approach supports a food system that preserves local farmland and fosters community economic viability, requires less energy for transportation, and offers consumers the freshest foods." [Jeanne Peters, "Community Food Systems: Working Toward a Sustainable Future," Journal of the American Dietetic Association (Sept. 1997) 97(9): pp. 955-956. NAL Call # 389.8 Am34]. See also: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in this listing.
Natural Farming
Natural Farming reflects the experiences and philosophy of Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka. His books The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming (Emmaus: Rodale Press, 1978. NAL Call # S604 F72) and The Natural Way of Farming: The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy (Tokyo; New York: Japan Publications, 1985. NAL Call # S605.5 F72 1987) describe what he calls "do-nothing farming" and a lifetime of nature study. "His farming method involves no tillage, no fertilizer, no pesticides, no weeding, no pruning, and remarkably little labor! He accomplishes all this (and high yields) by careful timing of his seeding and careful combinations of plants (polyculture). In short, he has brought the practical art of working with nature to a high level of refinement." [Robert and Diane Gilman, "Greening the Desert: An Interview with Masanobu Fukuoka," In Context (Autumn 1986) 14: p. 37. Available at In Context Website (8/23/07): http://context.org/ICLIB/IC14/Fukuoka.htm]
Organic Farming
The term 'organic farming' was first used by Lord Northbourne in the book, Look to the Land (London: Dent, 1940. NAL Call # 30 N81). Lord Northbourne, who embraced the teachings of Rudolph Steiner and biodynamic farming, had a "vision of the farm as a sustainable, ecologically stable, self-contained unit, biologically complete and balanced--a dynamic living organic whole...The term thus did not refer solely to the use of living materials (organic manures, etc) in agriculture although obviously it included them, but with its emphasis on 'wholeness' is encompassed best by the definition 'of, pertaining to, or characterized by systematic connexion or coordination of parts of the one whole.' (Oxford English Dictionary, 1971.)" [AM Scofield, "Editorial: Organic Farming--The Origin of the Name," Biological Agriculture and Horticulture (1986) 4: pp. 1-5. NAL Call # S605.5 B5]
Organic farming was championed in the United States by J.I. Rodale, beginning in the mid-1940s. "The organic farmer and gardener must realize that fertilization is not the only measure for success. He must treat the soil as a living, breathing entity. He must rotate crops. He must fallow the land at regulated intervals. The organiculturist must not practice one-crop monoculture but must engage in a balanced agriculture with cattle as part of the general program. He must be smart in the ways of soil and crops, observing the reaction of the land to the actions of man. For instance, he must know when to plant, when to harvest, and what varieties of seed to use. Compost alone does not make a successful gardener any more than does gardening without compost." ["The Organiculturist’s Creed," in The Organic Front, Chapter 8 (Emmaus PA: Rodale Press, 1948). NAL Call # 56.6 R610]
As defined by a USDA Study Team on Organic Farming, "Organic farming is a production system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming systems rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral-bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients, and to control insects, weeds and other pests." [Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming (Washington DC: USDA, 1980), p. xii. NAL Call # aS605.5 U52. Available at AFSIC Website: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/USDAOrgFarmRpt.pdf (8/23/07)]
The following definition was drafted and passed by the USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in April 1995. It was developed by a joint NOSB/National Organic Program task force, and incorporated language from the Codex Draft Guidelines for organically produced foods: "Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony. ‘Organic’ is a labeling term that denotes products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. The principal guidelines for organic production are to use materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole. Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize pollution from air, soil and water. Organic food handlers, processors and retailers adhere to standards that maintain the integrity of organic agricultural products. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people." [Final Minutes of the National Organic Standards Board, Orlando, Florida, April 24-28, 1995 (NOSB, 1994), p. 50. Available at NOSB Web site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5057442 (6/9/08)]
"Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled "organic," a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too." [What is organic food? (USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service, National Organic Program (NOP)).]
See also: Definitions of Organic Agriculture. International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Available at IFOAM Website: http://www.ifoam.org/organic_facts/doa/index.html (8/23/07)
Permaculture
A contraction of "permanent agriculture," the word "permaculture" was coined by Australian Bill Mollison in the late 1970s. One of the many alternative agriculture systems described as sustainable, permaculture is "unique in its emphasis on design; that is, the location of each element in a landscape, and the evolution of landscape over time. The goal of permaculture is to produce an efficient, low-maintenance integration of plants, animals, people and structure... applied at the scale of a home garden, all the way through to a large farm." [John Quinney, "Permaculture in the United States," The New Alchemy Quarterly (Spring 1986) 23: p. 3. NAL Call # S589.7 N48] [See also, Andrew Jeeves, Introduction to Permaculture and Bill Mollison, The Terrible Time of Day (Pamphlet I in the Permaculture Design Course Series, published by Yankee Permaculture). Available at Barking Frogs Website: http://www.barkingfrogspermaculture.org/PDC_ALL.pdf (8/23/07)]
Slow Food
Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.
The Slow Food movement was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy to combat fast food. It claims to preserve the cultural cuisine and the associated food plants and seeds, domestic animals, and farming within an ecoregion. It was the first established part of the broader Slow movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 83,000 members in 122 countries.
See Slow Food International, Slow Food USA and Slow Food Gainesville
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to produce food indefinitely, respecting the health of the natural ecosystem and resources, supporting the rural community and offering respect and fair treatment to all involved, from farm workers to consumers to the animals raised for food.
Two key issues are biophysical (the long-term effects of various practices on soil properties and processes essential for crop productivity) and socio-economic (the long-term ability of farmers to obtain inputs and manage resources such as labor).