Articles

Sustainable Food Program

Check out the latest edition to the Sustainable Food Program: our Taste of BorderLinks cookbook! Inside, you will find a compilation of delicious, healthy, sustainable, and vegetarian recipes inspired by BorderLinks' delegations.  Order one today!

A sustainable food system is one that can be maintained with minimal use of resources from outside the system, and with minimal negative impact on the planet, growers, and consumers. BorderLinks Sustainable Food Program seeks to not only model a just, delicious, and nutritious way of eating, but also to create dialogue and understanding about the connection between the economic realities of the border and the impact of one’s daily consumer choices—choices that contribute to unjust economic systems leading to forced migration.

Through our Sustainable Food Program, BorderLinks supports the local food system by purchasing from local, organic growers and partnering with Tucson-based organizations that promote the use of sustainable food practices. Meals served at BorderLinks consist of local, organic, bulk, and fair trade vegetarian food, some of which is produced in our on-site garden. Further, the Sustainable Food Coordinator utilizes interactive presentations on food security and sustainability issues, educating participants on the importance of understanding the global food system and providing information on U.S. agricultural production and its social, economic, and ecological impacts domestically and across borders.

Here are some reasons why we encourage participants to buy local food:

Locally grown food tastes better.

• Usually picked in the last day or two.
• Picked ripe, not green.

Local produce is better for you.

• Average distance food travels from farm to store is 1500 miles, and fresh produce loses nutrients quickly.
• Fresh food eaten soon after harvest retains vital nutrients.

Local food is free of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's).

• Biotech companies sell to large factory-style farms, and most Americans want to avoid eating such food.
• Local, small farm produced food is not genetically engineered, and is therefore safer to eat.

Local food builds community.

• Buying direct re-establishes a time-honored connection between the eater and the growers.
• It can give you access to a farm where your can learn about nature.

Local food preserves open space.

• As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely.
• When you buy locally-grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

Local food supports a clean environment.

• A well-managed family farm values the resources of fertile soil and clean water.
• Cover crops prevent erosion, replace nutrients and capture carbon emissions to help combat global warming.
• Farms provide a home for wildlife.

Local food preserves genetic diversity.

• Factory-style farm foods are chosen in labs to ripen simultaneously, survive shipping and have a long shelf life.
• Growing and eating many varieties of food preserves a wide genetic diversity, which may someday provide genes to survive in changing climates.

Buying locally supports local farmers.

• Small farms and farmers are vanishing, often due to prices below the cost of production.