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GOURMET NEWS www.gourmetnews.com n JANUARY 2018 n GOURMET NEWS 1 1 0 Organic Agriculture Helps Fight Climate Change By Lorrie Baumann The organic farmers who are putting com- post on their fields instead of synthetic fer- tilizer are doing a climate a favor, according to a growing body of research that suggests that organic practices can help remediate major causes of climate change, according to Dr. Tracy Misiewicz, The Organic Center's Associate Director of Science Programs. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with growing food are a major contributor to human-caused climate change, and many food producers are looking for ways that they can mitigate those impacts and mini- mize the risks to their supply chains while also producing more food for a global popu- lation that's expected to grow to almost 10 billion people by 2050, according to the United Nations, which estimates the current global population at nearly 7.6 billion. The world's population has grown by 1 billion people just since 2005 and by 2 bil- lion people since 1993. The latest U.N. pro- jections indicate that the world will have about 8.6 billion people in 2030 and 9.8 bil- lion in 2050, with more than half of global population growth between now and 2050 taking place in Africa. The population of Eu- rope is expected to decline somewhat during that period. In the United States, 124 companies have committed to work on climate change with the Climate Collaborative, which is a joint project of OSC2, an industry organization based in northern California, and the Sus- tainable Food Trade Association. The Cli- mate Collaborative formed last year with the mission of leveraging the power of the natu- ral products industry to reverse climate change. The organization asks its members to commit to efforts in at least one of nine areas of concern: agriculture, energy effi- ciency, food wastes, forests, packaging, pol- icy, renewable energy, short-lived climate pollutants and transportation. Some of its members have made commitments in all nine areas, according to Lisa Spicka, Asso- ciate Director of the Sustainable Food Trade Association. Agriculture is a particularly important area of concern, since about 40 percent of the Earth's ice-free surface is currently being used for agriculture, according to Misiewicz. More than 900 million acres of land are currently used as farmland, accord- ing to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with the vast majority of that about evenly divided between permanent pasture and croplands. Agriculture is a major contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that are largely re- sponsible for human-caused climate change, Misiewicz said. Our food systems are re- sponsible for about 19 to 29 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, with agriculture responsible for about 80 to 86 percent of that, she said. That gives agri- culture two important ways to be part of the solution to climate change: by decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases and by se- questering carbon in the soil, she added. Agricultural emissions of greenhouse gases happen directly through fossil fuel combustion on farms to run the machinery that cultivates the soil and harvests the crops, methane releases by livestock and ni- trous oxide releases resulting from the breakdown of animal wastes and excessive fertilizer use. Indirect sources of green- house gas emissions include carbon release from land conversion, such as when rain forests are cleared to make way for agricul- ture and fossil fuel use to manufacture and transport materials used for agriculture, par- ticularly synthetic fertilizers, which are manufactured by a process that necessitates fossil fuels, Misiewicz said. Synthetic fertilizers are manufactured with the Haber Process, in which nitrogen from the air and hydrogen obtained from natural gas are combined to make ammonia. The ammonia, in turn, is used to make ammo- nium nitrate, which is fertilizer. Ammonium nitrate fertilizer is responsible for an estimated 43 percent of the total envi- ronmental impact of a loaf of bread, Misiewicz said. The global warming poten- tial of a loaf of bread is heavily dominated by the carbon dioxide emissions involved in its manufacture as well as the nitrate emis- sions resulting from the breakdown of excess synthetic fertilizer, she added. Since organic agriculture relies on putting organic material (that contains carbon) back into the soil rather than using synthetic fer- tilizers, organic crop production can gener- ate, on average, 25 percent fewer global warming emissions and 80 percent fewer ozone depleting emissions, according to a Canadian study of canola, corn and soy pro- duction, Misiewicz said. "On average, or- ganic agriculture is more energy efficient than conventional agriculture, largely through omission of fossil fuel-based fertil- izers, and organic agriculture as a whole can positively impact climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration." The Unsung Hurricane Heroes: H-E-B and Publix By Robin Mather As Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast on Friday, Aug. 25, an em- ployee of the Vintage Park H-E-B store in northwest Houston looked out the rear of the store and saw a funnel cloud. Inside the store, the other employees scurried for cover in the still-open store. No one was injured, but the store stayed open after the tornado danger had passed. And when Hurricane Irma struck Florida's southwestern coast, Publix's emergency response team watched closely. They'd been eyeing this storm, as they do every storm, trying to main- tain the deli- cate balance of store associ- ates' need to prepare their own homes and their fami- lies against their cus- tomers' need to stock up and get home safely. Supermarkets, as it turns out, may be the unsung heroes of natural disaster. Two chains in particular – H-E-B and Publix – stay open as long as possible before a hurri- cane hits, so their customers can stock up on much-needed supplies, especially if they're going to shelter in place. And they reopen – if they closed at all – the very minute it's possible to do so, because they know their customers will need to restock the milk, the ice, the bottle water, the baby formula after the worst of the emergency has passed and recovery begins. "In a way, we're first responders," says Maria Brous, a Publix spokesman who's based in Lakeland, Florida. "We see it as part of our mission to help our communities in so many ways. For people to have a smile and a warm cup of coffee … to use the phone charging stations we had set up … just all that stuff that we don't think about in that kind of situation." In Houston, H-E-B Steps Up Kimberly Weiberg lives near that Vintage Park H-E-B, and shops there regularly. She's lived in Houston for going on 16 years, and says the store "always has a good produce se- lection, friendly people, and wonderful sampling, especially on the week- end. They have a nice organic section, and you can grind your own peanut butter there." While Weiberg pur- chases some items at stores closer to her home in Norchester, a Houston suburb, she goes to H-E- B for one thing in particular: "H-E-B is where I purchase meats because I feel more comfortable about the quality, and they do have good prices on meat." Weiberg and her family left town the day before Harvey hit, headed first to Dallas and then back to family in Missouri. "I stocked up before we left, though, so when we re- turned, I was able to help neighbors through the outreach program of my church, which is called Mercy Ministry." It was while assembling packages of emergency aid after the storm had passed that Weiberg's friendly feelings toward H-E-B skyrocketed. "We're put- ting together these packages for Mercy Min- istry, and up comes a tractor- trailer full of paper products – mostly toilet paper – and somebody said, 'That's from H- E-B.' And then I learned about H-E-B's $5 million donation to J.J. Watt's (tight end for the Houston Texans) hurricane relief fund. It's so cool to see people doing that." H-E-B's concern for its community con- tinues, she says. "I've seen posters about H- E-B giving free tetanus shots," she reports. "But in terms of charity, everyone is not wanting to take because they think someone else needs it worse." Kelly Akey, also of Norchester, sheltered in place during the storm, and shopped at the H-E-B the night before Harvey made land- fall. "I didn't go to that H-E-B for a little while after the storm because the parking lot was flooded, as were the streets from my house to H-E-B, so I'm not really sure when they re-opened," she says. The employee who spotted the tornado told her about it on her next visit to the store after the storm. In Florida, Publix Hopes to Help Publix's spokesman Brous says the company was eager to send aid to hard-hit Houston after Harvey. "We sent five trailers of water," she says, "and H-E-B was so gracious that, just a few days after that, they sent 10 trailers to us – seven trailers of water, two of ice, and one of assorted food, cleaning supplies and baby needs." The company and its customers have al- ways been generous, she says. "Right after Harvey hit Texas, we opened a register cam- paign where customers could make a dona- tion to the Red Cross for Texans. In less than five days, we raised $2.5 million for hurri- cane relief, and Publix Super Market Chari- ties, our non-profit, also donated an addi- tional $250,000 to that effort." Another register campaign was begun right after Hurricane Irma, Brous says, and that one is still on-going. "But Publix Char- ities has donated $1 million to the Red Cross and the United Way to help the recovery process." Publix, which is headquartered in Florida, has a lot of experience with hurricanes, Brous says. "Back in 2004, we had four hurricanes: Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. After that, we invested in generators for our stores and now, more than 700 stores have them." Harvey's effect on Houston may have en- couraged Publix customers to prepare for Irma, Brous says. "We saw our customers preparing earlier, getting to the store and stocking up before the storm." In Irma's aftermath, she says, "we had some water damage for some stores, but no significant issues. We did have more than 400 stores on auxiliary power. All of our stores have reopened, and now we're helping our neighbors in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands." But hurricane season has been tough on all grocery stores, she says. "We have an amaz- ing warehouse and logistics team. Those teams literally worked around the clock to get bottled water, batteries, bread, diapers and formula to our stores, and those items are all still in high demand." At the heart of Publix's generosity is the company's "deeply personal relationship with our customers and our communities," Brous says. "It's all about the people and the bonds we make with our customers. The one thing that can't be replicated is our people and their desire to serve."

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