Jasmine Cuenco | The Urban Farmers Blog

Growing Organic to Feed the World: Environmental Justice is Social Justice

Posted by Jasmine Cuenco | Nov 17, 2016 | Featured, Growing Food |

There are significant benefits to the environment and economic profitability when considering more organic farming practices. Organic farming will decrease threats to biodiversity and decrease greenhouse emissions. At the same time, organic farming preserves soil conditions with less use, exploitation, and degradagtion. Moreover, there is a wider market for buying organic. People are simply willing to pay a little more if they know they are getting quality produce. Nutritious quality also increases, which translates to preventable or reduction of negative social outcomes. For example, less pesticide use means less unnatural compounds that affect quality of health. Although organic farming...

Transparency Ignites the Organic Food Revolution

Posted by Jasmine Cuenco | Nov 3, 2016 | Featured |

This article reflects on the growing trend of organic foods. It is shifting culturally as it extends from a lifestyle choice to a matter of accessibility and availability. For me, this translates to the public’s greater understanding in how to navigate through a broken food system. Not only are consumers becoming wiser but a collective movement is taking place. By acting on the issue and demanding quality food, the suppliers, farmers, and economy must adjust. This is a small victory in regulating the market through civic action! Dan Wilkinson, chief commercial officer of 1WorldSync, explains how consumer demand and...

First Food Waste Supermarket Opens

Posted by Jasmine Cuenco | Nov 3, 2016 | Featured, Food Waste, Popular Posts |

The UK’s first food waste supermarket has opened in Pudsey, near Leeds. Food waste campaigners from the Real Junk Food Project have opened “the warehouse”, a store on the Grangefield Industrial Estate. Customers are invited to shop for food thrown out by supermarkets and other businesses. The food is priced on a “pay as you feel” basis and has already helped desperate families struggling to feed their children. Source: The UK’s first food waste supermarket opens: in pictures | The...

Over a Billion Pounds of Excess Cheese

Posted by Jasmine Cuenco | Oct 31, 2016 | Food Waste, Popular Posts |

The government’s effort to support dairy farmers is an ongoing debate of whether this is a solution or an extension of the issue. As the U.S. buys cheese to protect dairy farmers and their business, trends indicate there is a smaller market for cheese. Although efforts to reduce cheese consumption is becoming more popular, is buying the surplus productive? The 1.2 billion pounds of cheese sitting in storage are not even the issue. Surplus meat, poultry, milk, and other dairy products are flooding the food market. The U.S. government has a long history of supporting local farmers when prices collapse, by...

Top Wasted Food in the United States

Posted by Jasmine Cuenco | Oct 31, 2016 | Food Waste, Popular Posts |

While it seems that there is an endless supply of food in the United States, the poor and the impoverished find themselves lacking access to food, never mind healthy food. Buying fresh, organic produce is beyond the reach of many such workers. Today, a third of the planet’s food goes to waste — enough to feed two billion people. That food is wasted at every stage from farm to table, sometimes just because of how it looks. In fields, unpicked, “ugly” produce is left to rot. In grocery stores, workers reject blemished (but edible) fruits and veggies. And in our own homes, we...