Sharing some facts from the Union of Concerned Scientists in honor of 2013 Food Day!
1. Healthy farms=win-win-win for health/well-being of people, economies & natural resources we all depend on
2. Sales of locally grown food now total $5 BILLION/year.
3. Modest public investments in ~500 farmers markets/year could create >13K jobs over 5 years.
4. Got (organic) milk? #Organic dairies = better for environment, consumer health & regional economies.
5. Shifting policy from supporting junk food to fruits/veg could save $17B in health costs.
6. Burger with a side of…pills? 70% of antibiotics sold in US are used in animal agriculture.
7. Only 2% of US cropland is devoted to fruit/veg. Time for smarter gov’t policies.
8. If Americans ate fruit/veg according to @myplate, US production of fruit/veg would increase by 88%.
9. Just 1 more serving of fruits/vegetables could save >30K lives/yr.
10. Scientists have shown that cover crops can reduce nitrogen groundwater pollution by 40-70%