The Wild Farm Alliance is partnering with the Chefs Collaborative to help connect cuisine with the environment. By using the pieces in this toolkit, chefs are becoming more compelled and equipped to support conservation-based agriculture. Food produced in healthy landscapes can support both humans and wild Nature.

Eat Local:

Food Routes
Offers some good health, environmental, and economic reasons to buy local as well as resources for finding local food suppliers.
www.foodroutes.org/buylocal.jsp

Local Harvest
Several paragraphs summarizing the sustainability of eating locally in terms of energy use and the local economy.
www.localharvest.org/buylocal.jsp

Sustainable Table
Emphasizes food miles, health & nutrition and local economics as primary reasons to buy local.
www.sustainabletable.org/issues/buylocal/

Buy Fresh Buy Local
This local food guide, the result of a collaboration between FoodRoutes Network and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, makes it easy to find locally grown or raised food in California.
www.buylocalca.org

Eat In-Season:

Eat the Seasons
Relates which fruits and veggies are currently in season and has links for each month of the year.
www.eattheseasons.com/

Transworld
A clear and concise article extolling the benefits and virtues of eating seasonally.
www.booksattransworld.co.uk/minisites/seasonalfood/why.htm

Organic & GMO Free:

Organic Trade Association
Introduction to the primary health and ecological benefits of organic agriculture, each with a link to further explanation.
www.ota.com/organic/benefits.html

Soil Association
Good short list of 10 reasons to eat organic.
www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/Living/10reasons.html

Green Facts
Provides links that address common questions regarding genetically modified crops.
www.greenfacts.org/en/gmo/index.htm

Center for Food Safety
Article outlining the problems associated with genetically modified crops.
www.centerforfoodsafety.org/geneticall7.cfm

Union of Concerned Scientists
A clearly written assessment expounding the risks of genetic engineering.
www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/genetic_engineering/risks-of-genetic-engineering.html

 

Pasture-Raised:

Food Routes
Fact sheet exploring why pasture-raised meat and dairy products are good for the consumer and the environment.
www.foodroutes.org/doclib/240/FactSheet+Meat+and+Dairy.pdf

Eatwild
Site reviews the history of factory farming and explains the benefits of grass-fed to consumers, the animals, and the environment.
www.eatwild.com/basics.html

Union of Concerned Scientists
Article addressing the environmental problems that are avoided by raising livestock on pasture.
www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/greener-eggs-ham.html

Sustainably Harvested:

Low Impact
This fact sheet reviews the definition of wild food and discusses the topic of sustainable harvesting.
www.lowimpact.org/factsheetwildfood.pdf

Worldwatch Institute
This helpful article paints the sustainability picture of seafood, the last major wild food in the human diet.
www.worldwatch.org/node/4133

 

Predator-Friendly:

Coexisting with Predators
Fact sheet defining what it means to be predator friendly, and offering reasons for adopting this practice. Includes a list of predator friendly methods.
www.predatorconservation.org/%20Media/PDF/PCA_PF_web.pdf

Sierra Club
A brief article by Dan Imhoff on expanding the vision of organic agriculture to include farming practices that accommodate salmon, coyotes, and wolves.
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1525/is_1_84/ai_53501839/pg_1

Shade-Grown Coffee:

Audubon Atlanta
A simple fact sheet with the main points on how shade-grown coffee benefits birds and the environment.
www.atlantaaudubon.org/aaswww/sgc/sgcfacts.htm

Eartheasy: ideas for environmentally sustainable living
This brief write-up includes benefits and history of shade-grown coffee, as well as cost and ordering information.
eartheasy.com/eat_shadegrown_coffee.htm#a

Migratory Bird Center at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park
This page answers frequently asked questions about bird friendly coffee.
nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/faq.cfm

Community Agroecology Network
A U.S. based non-profit created to connect rural communities with North American consumers. Sustainably grown coffee can be purchased directly from farmers on their website.
www.communityagroecology.net

 

Salmon Safe:

Explains the Salmon-Safe eco label that requires the implementation of practices safeguarding local waterways for the benefit of native salmon.
www.salmonsafe.org/about/faq.cfm

 

Native Plant Hedgerows & Streamside Buffers:

Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Informative resource guide for incorporating native plant hedgerows into agriculture. Written specifically for the California region, but principles apply broadly.
www.caff.org/programs/farmscaping/hedgerowman.shtml.

National Resource Conservation Service
A broad-scale look at the conservation benefits of vegetative buffers from the NRCS.
www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory73.html

 

Year Round Plant Cover for Soil Conservation:

Washington State University
Great summary of the benefits of cover crops with links to additional layers of information.
grant-adams.wsu.edu/agriculture/covercrops/benefits/

National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
Provides an extensive overview of the use of cover crops and green manure in farming.
attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Good, accessible information on overgrazing and the importance of permanent vegetation from the FAO.
www.virtualcentre.org/en/dec/toolbox/Grazing/overgraz.htm

 

Clean Air & Water:

United States Department of Agriculture
Extensive article on how and why farming practices affect air and water quality- also explores the connection between the two.
www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/July06SpecialIssue/pdf/ImprovingFeatureJuly06.pdf

Pollinators & Beneficial Insects, Birds, & Bats:

US Fish and Wildlife Service
The pollinator portal of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It reviews the importance of pollinators and has links to further information.
www.fws.gov/pollinators/Index.html

Department of Entomology, Michigan State University
Bulletin providing information on farm practices that help conserve native bees.
www.ipm.msu.edu/plants/pdf/E2985ConservingNativeBees.pdf

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Brief fact sheet from the Xerces Society explaining why pollinators are essential to our environment.
www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/Poll_Why_Care.htm

Point Reyes Bird Observatory
“Bringing the Birds Back: A guide to habitat enhancement in riparian and oak woodlands for the North Bay region” identifies practical steps for improving bird habitat on privately held land.
www.prbo.org/calpif/pdfs/north_bay.pdf

Bat Conservation International
Introduction to bat houses and attracting bats to your property.
www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=47

Wild Farm Alliance
A briefing paper from the Wild Farm Alliance covering the history of pollination and showcasing farmers whose practices allow them to benefit from native pollinators.
www.wildfarmalliance.org/resources/briefing.htm

British Columbia’s Ministry of the Environment
Concise article introducing the subject of beneficial insects and ways to attract and conserve them.
www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/ipmp/Brochures/goodbugs.htm

Broad Diversity of Domestic & Native Species:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
A helpful information sheet from the FAO detailing the significant of biodiversity in food systems.
www.fao.org/biodiversity/index.asp

Wild Farm Alliance
Organic and biodiversity news from WFA including links to “Biodiversity Conservation: An Organic Farmer’s Guide” and “Biodiversity: What it is and How to Increase it on Your Farm.”
www.wildfarmalliance.org/resources/organic_BD.htm

www.wildfarmalliance.org/index.htm

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
Outlines the potential for organic farming systems to participate in biodiversity conservation.
www.ifoam.org/organic_facts/benefits/pdfs/OA_Biodiversity_Links.pdf

The Land Institute
Excerpt from a larger work describing the global picture of biodiversity decline and explaining agriculture’s role.
www.landinstitute.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/08/23/439bd36c9acf1

 

Manage Farms as Natural Habitat:

Watershed Media
Case study demonstrating how one might farm with the wild and links to additional resources.
www.watershedmedia.org/fwtw_resources.html

Land Stewardship Project
Article highlighting the multiple benefits ecological agriculture can have on the larger landscape. Includes links to further articles and reports on related issues.
www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_mba.html

Maintain or Restore Wildlife Connectivity:

University of Illinois Extension
Thorough introduction to the characteristics and benefits of environmental corridors.
www.extension.uiuc.edu/factsheets/LGIEN%202001-0013.pdf

National Wildlife Federation
Article from National Wildlife Magazine reviewing the growing body of evidence for the importance of wildlife corridors in connecting isolated habitats.
www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueId=43&articleId=499

Practical Winery and Vineyards
Paper from Berkeley researcher highlighting the value of wildlife corridors, in this case, through vineyards.
www.practicalwinery.com/novdec02/novdec02p6.htm

Value Large Predators:

Mountain Lion Foundation
Offers a good, concise explanation of the purpose served by predators.
www.mountainlion.org/publications/When_Balance_is_Not_Enough.pdf

The Rewilding Institute
Outlines why the removal of carnivores triggers a cascade of negative effects on ecosystem health.
www.rewilding.org/carnivoreconservation.html

Conservation Science Institute
Basic explanation of the role of predators in a healthy ecosystem with links to more information on particular species.
www.conservationinstitute.org/pcn/pcnhome.htm

Safeguard Rare Animals, Plants & Habitats:

NatureServe
Provides information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems in the U.S. and Canada, with an in-depth focus on rare and endangered species.
www.natureserve.org/explorer/

Support Watershed-Level Conservation:

Conservation Magazine
This article highlights how important it is for land managers to consider the broader landscape context when making conservation-minded decisions.
www.conbio.org/CIP/article33lsc.cfm

Ecography
Substantial article exploring habitat fragmentation and big-picture conservation.
www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1999.tb00496.x