Food That’s Healthy For People And The Planet

Making it Mainstream

FOOD THAT’S HEALTHY FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET Most of us prefer to eat healthy, fresh food produced in harmony with our natural environment—not food made with toxic chemicals, drugs, or polluting industrial practices. Yet too many of us remain stuck with food choices that threaten our wellbeing and the environment.

We can do better. NRDC believes that healthy, sustainably produced food should be accessible to all Americans. Turning that belief into reality will not only protect our families and communities, but will help safeguard the climate and our natural world.

Your support can help build and sustain NRDC’s multifaceted work to create a healthy food system where everyone has a place at the table.

FOOD THAT’S HEALTHY FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET

OUR PRIORITIES

CLEAN, PESTICIDE-FREE FOOD Pesticide residues in our food supply present a serious health threat— especially to children, pregnant women, farmworkers, and agricultural communities. As chemical companies lobby to keep their products on the market despite well-documented risks, NRDC’s lawyers and scientists are advocating for commonsense protections by: Livestock producers routinely rely on antibiotics to help animals survive • Fighting a Trump administration decision crowded and unsanitary conditions— to allow continued use of a neurotoxic a practice that breeds drug-resistant pesticide that the government’s own bacteria and reduces the effectivescientists deemed unsafe ness of antibiotics in treating human • Strengthening pesticide regulations in illnesses. The livestock industry also California, where most of our nation’s fruits and vegetables are grown releases massive amounts of pollution into our air and water, jeopardizing • Challenging major food companies to switch to organic purchasing for key community health and the climate. To crops and ingredients, beginning with tackle these issues, NRDC is:

LESS AND BETTER MEAT— WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS

HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE FOOD FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES Our food system should be one that works for all Americans. Yet too often people struggle to secure healthy, sustainable, and affordable food for their families. To help address this inequity, we are: •

Working with an alliance of seven of the largest urban school districts in the country to improve school meals and make antibiotic-free meat and other sustainable foods available to millions of children

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Partnering with communities to build a more equitable food system, with work that takes us from farm towns and lowincome neighborhoods to courtrooms and statehouses

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Providing legal guidance and services to food equity–focused farmers, smallbusiness owners, and communitybased organizations

the foods kids eat most

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Pushing the largest food companies to abandon routine antibiotics use and winning model laws by cities and states

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Persuading large food-service companies to shift menus toward less meat and more plant-based choices

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Protecting workers and other local residents from the health risks of livestock production

LESS WASTED FOOD Nearly 40 percent of the food we grow in the United States is never eaten, yet one in eight Americans lacks a secure food supply. Meanwhile, wasted food is the leading contributor to landfills, producing enough climate pollution each year to rival that generated by 39 million cars. We’re addressing these concerns by: •

Promoting standardized food-date labels that help keep edible food from being thrown away

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Shaping “food-saving” consumer behavior through a high-profile national advertising campaign that is leveraging tens of millions of dollars in donated advertising

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Collaborating with major cities to demonstrate model strategies for reducing food waste

Every year, huge numbers of wild bees and honeybee colonies vanish.

Over the past two decades, the monarch butterfly population has declined by more than 80 percent.

NRDC is fighting to protect these vital pollinators from increased pesticide use, habitat loss, disease, and climate change by: •

Calling on major retailers, such as Home Depot and Walmart, to stop selling bee-killing pesticides

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Pushing big pesticide manufacturers to phase out products that threaten bees and butterflies

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Forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to weigh the impacts of pesticides on pollinators, and either ban them or limit use

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Passing state laws that restrict pesticides and increase habitat

C H A D S AW Y E R

FORSTER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

ABUNDANT POLLINATORS

HEALTHY SOIL AND HELP FOR FARMERS Healthy soil filters pollutants from water and helps curb climate change by storing carbon. Farmers who protect soil health are less reliant on irrigation, less likely to lose crops due to bad weather, and less dependent on federal farm subsidies and crop insurance payouts. NRDC is working to help farmers and improve soil quality by: •

Reforming subsidies, such as crop insurance, to reward farmers who improve soil health

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Using research to demonstrate the environmental and economic benefits of soil conservation

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Establishing model policies in key states and building support for nationwide incentives for farmers

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OUR TEAM & APPROACH NRDC’s Food & Agriculture program is powered by policy advocates, lawyers, scientists, and communications experts who have helped transform markets, pass groundbreaking food legislation, and educate millions of consumers. Together, we undertake the best research and analysis so we can understand problems at their source and then apply

our knowledge of policy and markets to develop pragmatic solutions.

Right now, our team is pushing back attempts by the Trump administration to unravel commonsense national food policies, while making forward progress to win model state and local laws, change corporate behavior, and create well-informed consumers.

MAKING OUR MARK ARMED WITH NRDC’S FIVE DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, OUR TEAM WIELDS AN ARRAY OF PROVEN TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES. OUR APPROACH INCLUDES: Litigation to enforce current laws and fight the influence of lobbyists who protect agribusiness profits at the expense of our communities, consumers, and the environment Public-facing campaigns that generate consumer pressure using the power of traditional and social media to spotlight harmful corporate practices Engagement with major food companies that adopt progressive policies to create a seismic shift among peers and in the market Progress in state houses and city halls nationwide where a critical mass of action can transform the way industry does business, and help build support for federal policies Connecting with grassroots groups across the country to grow a broader, more diverse, and more effective food movement

JOINING FORCES WITH A BROAD RANGE OF PARTNERS, WE ARE HELPING TO TRANSFORM AMERICA’S FOOD SYSTEM. OUR WINS INCLUDE: Shifting half of America’s chicken producers away from risky antibiotic use. We helped persuade McDonalds, Foster Farms, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, and other top food companies to eliminate antibiotics in their chicken supply chains. We also secured pioneering laws in California and Maryland that ban the routine livestock use of these essential drugs.

Elevating food waste to a national priority. We helped convince the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt a national food waste reduction goal of 50 percent by 2030; persuaded industry leaders to improve food date labeling; and partnered with the Ad Council, the nonprofit arm of the advertising industry, to launch a national consumer education campaign that has attracted nearly $40 million in donated advertising.

Curbing high-risk pesticides in the food supply. We compelled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban or restrict numerous dangerous pesticides— protecting farmers, farmworkers, and consumers. Our efforts to restrict brain-damaging pesticides resulted in a 60 percent reduction in residues on kid-friendly foods such as apples.

Launching a major coalition to improve school food.

NRDC helped found the Urban School Food Alliance, a nonprofit consortium of the nation’s largest public school districts that leverages its collective purchasing power to make school food healthy and sustainable. The alliance has already made antibiotic-free chicken available for millions of school children across the country.

To find out more, email us at food@nrdc.org

Winning protection for a key pollinator. When the Trump administration tried to impose a freeze on the endangered species listing of the rusty patched bumble bee, NRDC sued. The administration backed down, and this species—an important pollinator of apples, onion seed, and other crops—became the first bumble bee to receive federal protection.