Food & Environment - Rochester, NY area  

RochesterEnvironment.com

Consider how what we grow and what we eat has an impact on our local environment.   

 

Page Contents: Food NewsLinks | Food Discussions | Special Food Resources | Official Food Links | Food Education | Food Action  | Gardening in Rochester | Local Farmers' Markets |

Food and the Environment There are a number of environmental issues containing concerns we should have about the food we eat.

food

From genetically altered foods, toxins, mercury, how far we travel to get our food and how far our food travels to get to us,  to irradiation issues, we should learn about how our food is affected by changes in our environment. 

There a many groups and coops trying to change the way we think about what we eat and our environment in the Rochester area.

 

 

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Food Discussions for the Rochester, NY area

What you eat, where you get what you eat, your garden, our urban forests all matter to our environment.  Get involved in a discussion about that. 

  • What the Heck are you Eating? Find out what you are eating and what chemicals may or maynot have gotten in your food: What’s On My Food? Pesticides …on our food, even after washing; …in our bodies, for years; …& in our environment, traveling many miles on wind, water and dust. more...
  • Buying from local markets in Rochester, NY. Buy local foods and help our environment. Another good way to help our environment and our economy is to help out our local agriculture. In the United States (and probably around the world) we have so evolved in our food production and distribution so that there are many local food producers who feed the few and a few very large food producers who feed the vast majority. Though this model often keeps food prices low and uniform (though even that can be disputed), it also requires a vast quantity of fossil fuels (which warm the planet) to transport and in my opinion create a very dangerous dependency on a few food products (like wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, and a few others) which work against the need for biodiversity in our planets flora system. more...
  • The Fuel Cost and Food Crisis Too often, I suppose, the words crisis and environment are linked in today's corporate media because TV, radio, magazines and newspapers consistently frame their stories around attention-driven eye catchers. That's lamentable because it triggers the ‘chicken little’ response in the public rendering serious attention to important stories null and void. When an actual disaster faces the public, we fail to act because we’ve become too inured to the plethora of calamities clamoring for our attention. (I know this criticism is usually levied on environmentalists, but we have little ability to reach the general public except through the media.) more...
  • Environmental Thoughts - Rochester, NY: Green Lawns and Gardens - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation#links: Have a beautiful yard without chemicals "We all want a beautiful looking yard, but also one that is safe for our families, friends and pets to enjoy. Use the tips and resources on this page to learn how to have both and protect the environment at the same time." more...

 

 


Each Sunday in the summer, go local produce and more at Brighton Farmers Market. Photo by Frank J. Regan.
Brighton Farmers Market

The Brighton Farmers’ Market is held Sundays, 9 am to 1 pm (rain or shine), in the Brighton High School parking lot, 1150 Winton Road South, Rochester.  The market is sponsored by the Town of Brighton.  Visit brightonfarmersmarket.org, or visit us on Facebook.

(Above scripts from Dynamic Drive)

Rochester area Special Food Resources

Check these sites for local food and environment business solutions to an alternate ways of gather food for consumption

  • Abundance Cooperative Market  Community owned--open to the general public. Genesee Co-op Natural Food store: We Offer... Organic, natural, and bulk foods Fresh local produce Baked goods Supplements & special diet foods Health, beauty, & household goods Deli & coffee bar Children's area Community shopping experience Please drop by and say hello! 62 Marshall Street, Rochester, NY 14607, 585 454-2667.
  • RAVS: The Rochester Area Vegetarian Society --"is a non-profit, non-sectarian educational organization that strives to provide educational resources for informing the public about the advantages of a vegetarian life-style. Nutritional information, including recipes, that will support and facilitate the adoption and healthful enjoyment of a vegetarian Diet. insight into the impact of animal-centered diets on human health, on the integrity of our environment, on world hunger, and on cruelty needlessly inflicted on billions of living, feeling, creatures every year, an opportunity for interested not-yet-vegetarians to learn at first-hand about the delights of good vegetarian cooking and to get to know and interact with experienced vegetarians. An opportunity for enriched understanding, mutual support and shared fellowship for practicing vegetarians. Provide opportunities for community outreach and community service in the interest of good health, environmental protection, and compassionate living. RAVS meets on the third Sunday of every month. Most meetings offer a SHARE-A-DISH DINNER of completely vegetarian foods, and we regularly present stimulating and informative programs."
  • Foodlink Foodlink is a Feeding America regional food bank, which rescues and redistributes nearly 10 million pounds of food annually to a network of 500 member agencies in a 10-county area in Central and Western New York. Foodlink’s vision is to end hunger, build self-sufficiency, and foster nutritional wellness. We pursue this vision through an innovative collection of initiatives including our regional food bank, Freshwise Catering, Freshwise Farms, and the Fulfillment Center. The Foodlink Food Bank works with area food retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers to acquire, sort, store and redistribute food to our member charity programs – especially soup kitchens, shelters and emergency food pantries. In addition, Foodlink provides food to hundreds of non-emergency programs such as group homes, day cares, senior centers and camps. Our goal is to help non-profits agencies save vital dollars on their food budget so their scarce resources can be redirected to their programs to meet the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of clients.
  • Genesee Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture: The Genesee Valley Organic CSA is a farmer-shareholder coop open to anyone in the greater Rochester NY area.
  • UR-VEG Home We're UR undergraduates, grads, alumni and staff committed to the welfare and rights of animals. Our goal is to reduce unnecessary animal suffering by helping people lead healthy and compassionate veg*an lifestyles. We advertise, sponsor educational events, conduct field trips, host potluck dinners and provide weekly rides to local groceries and restaurants. Anyone interested in vegetarianism, veganism, animal rights or animal welfare is welcome; you don't have to be a vegetarian to join us! Please feel free to stop by one of our meetings to find out what we're about — or just to try some free vegan food.
  • Greater Rochester Urban Bounty Since 1999, The Greater Rochester Urban Bounty (GRUB) has been farming two market gardens and a vineyard in the northeast sector of the city during the summer months. Our produce is grown without pesticides or chemicals, and we use only approved organic fertilizers. We have a compost site to help make the precious organic nutrients for our growing crops.
  • Rochester Roots Rochester Roots is creating a locally sustainable food system that ensures community food security.
  • If you are worried about pesticides and herbicides and food, this site (according to some experts) is a good source to find out about that relationship. Environmental Working Group || foodnews.org - You can also get a free copy of "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides and Produce."
  • Naturally Green | Radio for Garden Lovers | Saturday's at 9AM on WYSL 1040 AM. "All about gardening & nature from Aphids to Zinnias. Garden expert, Michael Warren Thomas hosts your questions with guests from the gardening community."
  • Edible Buffalo "Welcome to Edible BUFFALO ~ Western New York’s new quarterly print magazine solely dedicated to showcasing and promoting our local food shed. We will focus on where our local food is grown and produced, along with featuring our many food artisans and chefs, farmers’ markets and food shops and the restaurants and cafes that dot the landscape of the region."
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County - 4-H Youth Development Welcome to the Lake Plains 4-H Youth Development Program!   We support regional 4-H efforts as a part of the Lake Plains 4-H Program. Both Monroe and Wayne counties share expertise across county lines. By utilizing the strengths and capacities of each county 4-H program, youth audiences and their families will have greater accessibility to 4-H program opportunities throughout the Wayne and Monroe County Regions.   By offering "learn-by-doing" projects and activities, youth explore a broad spectrum of interests in 4-H that include Agriculture & Farming, Environmental Conservation & Science, Youth Community Action/Community Service, Communication & Public Speaking, Plants and Animals, and Science & Technology.
  • Foodlink "Hunger in America 2010 provides insight into national, state and local issues surrounding emergency food programs. Conducted by Feeding America, Foodlink, and 184 other food banks across the country, it is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted. Hunger in America 2010 provides authoritative and statistically valid data on the national charitable response to hunger and the people served by food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters via Feeding America’s national network of food banks. "

Official Food Links for our area

Various departments of government rule over matters of our food and environment.  Get the facts and the regulations from your public institutions

  • New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Our mission is to foster a competitive food and agriculture industry that benefits producers and consumers alike. Agriculture makes up one-quarter of the State's land area and contributes immensely to the quality of life in New York State by generating economic activity and producing wholesome products to nourish our families. We work diligently to promote a viable agricultural industry, foster agricultural environmental stewardship, and safeguard our food supply. This website was designed to help you learn about the many services and specialized programs the Department has to offer. Take a look for yourself, and if there is anything that you cannot locate or requires further clarification, please don't hesitate to contact us via this website or at 1-800-554-4501. Thanks for your support of New York's food and agricultural industries!
  • NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON FOOD POLICY "New York State Governor’s Office issued Executive Order No. 13 on May 18, 2007 that established the New York State Council on Food Policy (NYS CFP). NYS CFP was created with the recognition that agriculture is a critically important industry to New York State, that hunger is a serious problem facing many families; that access to affordable, fresh and nutritious food is a serious problem; and that there are significant environmental, health and economic benefits from expanding agriculture production, including locally-grown and organically-grown food. "
  • United States Department of Agriculture - –Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman released the Bush Administration's review of the food and agriculture system with a view toward identifying critical needs for the new century. The report, "Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock for the New Century," details the enormous changes that have taken place in agriculture which continue to accelerate across the American food and farm sector.
  • US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Every day, every American comes in contact with a host of products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), everything from the most common food ingredients to complex medical and surgical devices, lifesaving drugs, and radiation-emitting consumer and medical products. In fact, FDA-regulated products account for about 25 cents of every consumer dollar spent in the United States. Stated most simply, FDA's mission is to promote and protect the public health by helping safe and effective products reach the market in a timely way, and monitoring products for continued safety after they are in use. Our work is a blending of law and science aimed at protecting consumers.

Food and Environment Education

Find out how food and our environment are connected and why it matters what you eat for our future.

  • International Food Policy Research Institute - Searching for policies to feed the world and protect the environment. IFPRI’s mission is to identify and analyze policies for sustainably meeting the food needs of the developing world. Research at IFPRI concentrates on economic growth and poverty alleviation in low-income countries, improvement of the well-being of poor people, and sound management of the natural resource base that supports agriculture. IFPRI seeks to make its research results available to all those in a position to use them and to strengthen institutions in developing countries that conduct research relevant to its mandate.
  • CDC BSE BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or Mad Cow Disease)  "BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is a progressive neurological disorder of cattle that results from infection by an unusual transmissible agent called a prion. The nature of the transmissible agent is not well understood. Currently, the most accepted theory is that the agent is a modified form of a normal protein known as prion protein. For reasons that are not yet understood, the normal prion protein changes into a pathogenic (harmful) form that then damages the central nervous system of cattle. "
  • Food Cooking and Storage --from New York State Department of Health
  • What's in that fish and game sport that you should be aware of before you eat it? Find out from the New York State Department of Health ---   2005-2006 Health Advisories: Chemicals in Sportfish and Game
  • Sustainable Table Sustainable Table celebrates local sustainable food, educates consumers on food-related issues and works to build community through food.
  • Does your food have mercury in it? Check it out: Sea Turtle Restoration Project : Got Mercury? "GotMercury is a project of Turtle Island Restoration Network, the parent organization of Sea Turtle Restoration Project. Gotmercury.org is part of Turtle Island Restoration Network's efforts to protect the environment and the public from mercury. Because of the ubiquitious nature of mercury in our environment and because federal and state public health agencies are not doing enough to raise public awareness and protect the public from mercury, we developed gotmercury.org. "

Food and Environmental Action

There are ways you can join up with others and take action for food and our local environment

  • The True Food Network The Center for Food Safety works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. CFS has offices in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA
  • What’s On My Food? :: Pesticides On Food Pesticide Action Network At Pesticide Action Network (PAN) we know one thing: Pesticides are the linchpin of industrialized agriculture.
  • Bio/Veg Committee works on issues related to food and our environment in the Rochester, NY area. Rochester Reginal Group Sierra Club | Sierra Club
  • Food & Water Watch "Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control. "

Gardening in the Rochester, NY area

Few activities are more popular than gardening and gardening in the Rochester, NY area is no different.  Check out these Rochester area gardening sites for best advice on you garden issues.

  • Rochester Gardening This web site is meant to encourage the transfer of information relating to the varied interests of gardeners living near Rochester NY. This is accomplished by presenting some material which is local in content, and links to resources found elsewhere on the Internet. The material on this site includes some permanent resources, such as the large lists of links to many Internet sites, and a regularly-updated calendar with local events of interest to gardeners. There will be material which appears only for a short period of time, of a seasonal nature or a 'spotlight' feature. Since this site (like nature) will have some material in 'bloom' for long periods, and other features flowering for only a limited time, you should visit regularly to see what's new. We will try to point you to fresh growth with a list of what's new.
  • Gardening Information for Rochester, NY --from City Guide For Rochester, New York

Local Farmers Markers

Buy local foods and help our environment. Another good way to help our environment and our economy is to help out our local agriculture. In the United States (and probably around the world) we have so evolved in our food production and distribution so that there are many local food producers who feed the few and a few very large food producers who feed the vast majority. Though this model often keeps food prices low and uniform (though even that can be disputed), it also requires a vast quantity of fossil fuels (which warm the planet) to transport and in my opinion create a very dangerous dependency on a few food products (like wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, and a few others) which work against the need for biodiversity in our planets flora system. Buying from local agriculture can help alleviate this propensity to depend of a few large agriculture corporations and sustain our environment—and maybe even give jobs to your locality. Not to mention, you can probably walk to your local farmer’s market and move food production away from a dependency on fossil fuels. 

  • Monroe village Farmers' Market. Farmers' Market "Monroe Village Farmers’ Market | Wednesday Evenings 4:30 to 7:30 June 18th to October 29th | Blessed Sacrament Church Parking Lot Monroe Avenue Between Rutgers and Oxford | Enjoy local musicians and artists in a fun community atmosphere." --from Monroe Village
  • Rochester Public Market "Rochester's 103 year old Public Market, located in the heart of Rochester. Bargains abound Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Vendors offer their fresh foods, ethnic delicacies and specialty items. Special events throughout the year such as Sundays "Greatest Garage Sales Ever", and "Flower City Days" add to the flavor and excitement. The Public Market is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 a.m. - 1 :00 p.m., and Saturdays from 5:00 a.m. to 3 p.m., year-round." from  Welcome to the City of Rochester
  • The Genesee Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture  GVOCSA Vision We envision the creation of a land-based community of people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and incomes, farmers and non-farmers, who are committed to love, justice, equality, democracy and cooperation, and who honor the intrinsic value of nature and food, and the dignity of labor. The members of this community will work gently together to learn and teach others to live sustainably, in the broadest sense, for the health of all living creatures and the planet. We will practice an agriculture that supports a whole, healthy, sustainable, and loving community.
  • Brighton Farmers’ Market - Color Brighton Green Rain or shine, come to the market for fresh and delicious vegetables, fruit, meat, and more. Help support local farmers who, by growing food in sustainable ways, create a healthier food supply and a cleaner environment.
  • Good Food Collective | A Community Supported Agriculture with Choice! "The Good Food Collective is a multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project offering membership programs that connect people to local, sustainable foods and some of the best farmers in our area. "
  • South Wedge Farmers Market "The South Wedge Farmers Market is a Rochester, NY farmers’ market operating under the direction of the South Wedge Planning Committee. Our goal is to provide healthy, fresh food to city residents and support the community’s well-being. 2011 marks our 5th season of bringing you local, fresh food! Our vendors are all located fewer than 100 miles from Rochester. Support healthy, local food systems, and know your food! "