{"id":6652,"date":"2016-08-05T10:11:17","date_gmt":"2016-08-05T14:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=6652"},"modified":"2025-05-13T17:00:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T21:00:07","slug":"why-sustainable-food-cant-be-a-luxury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2016\/08\/05\/why-sustainable-food-cant-be-a-luxury\/","title":{"rendered":"Why sustainable food can\u2019t be a luxury"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Farm\"
Photo credit: Don Graham<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The results are in, so food companies take notice: American consumers are educating themselves on our food system, and they\u2019re increasingly asking for sustainably produced foods. That\u2019s a key takeaway from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation\u2019s new report on consumer attitudes toward food<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0an exciting trend, since what we buy sends a signal across the supply chain for farmers to grow ingredients in ways that protect our natural resources, and for food companies to source sustainably grown products. Sustainably produced food also supports food security, which is essential to our continued prosperity.<\/p>\n

Yet sustainably grown products are almost always more expensive to produce than their unsustainable counterparts, which is why many farmers require a premium for changing their production practices to reduce environmental impacts.<\/p>\n

To improve air and water quality and protect farmers\u2019 livelihoods, sustainability can\u2019t just be a luxury. Sustainable food production has to become business as usual.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why we\u2019re well on our way to meeting that goal.<\/p>\n

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Unprecedented consumer demand<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Mother
Photo credit: USDA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

IFIC\u2019s survey reveals that in the past year, nearly 40 percent of consumers read an article on the U.S. food system, more than 15 percent watched a food-related movie or documentary and over 10 percent read a book on the topic. That education is changing minds and purchasing decisions. Nearly 60 percent of consumers changed their food purchasing decisions after consuming food-related media, and over half discussed their findings with family, friends and coworkers.<\/p>\n

When making food purchases, consumers rank sustainability after taste, price, healthfulness and convenience. As a busy working parent trying to get dinner on the table every night, that doesn\u2019t surprise me! But that doesn\u2019t mean consumers don\u2019t also value sustainability \u2013 over 70 percent think it\u2019s important that ingredients are produced in a sustainable way. We want our sustainably produced cake, and we want to eat it too.<\/p>\n

Sustainability is profitable<\/strong><\/p>\n

Farmers are increasingly realizing savings from improved farm management practices. Efficient precision fertilizer use can save farmers money without sacrificing yields, and a recent survey<\/a> found that farmers who plant cover crops actually increase their grain crop yields. Other examples:<\/p>\n