Learn more about our farm—to—fork footprint:
- “‘Farm-to-fork’ conference focuses on energy, carbon emissions from food,” UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program news release, October 2007
- UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute
- UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
Our faculty involved in farm—to—fork research:
- Tom Tomich, director, Agricultural Sustainability Institute
- Gail Feenstra, food systems analyst, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
Socially responsible food
Here is a time—traveler’s look at the possible future of energy as influenced by UC Davis activities — a preview of everyday life as we might experience it five to 50 years from now.
Predicted timing: 2017
Once upon a time, food labels told you if tuna was dolphin-safe or milk was BST-free. Today you can scan a food label and tell how much energy it took to bring that food to you.
Just as the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies pioneered the measurement of life-cycle environmental impacts of auto fuels, the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute has quantified the costs of growing, harvesting, processing and transporting food products.
The institute’s industry partner in the effort was a leader in socially responsible food sourcing, Bon Appetit Management Co. One of the world’s largest food buyers, Bon Appetit serves millions of meals daily in offices, museums and university dining halls.
Labeling project launched in 2006
The Agricultural Sustainability Institute’s first director, Tom Tomich, launched the Low Carbon Diet labeling project in 2006. An agricultural economist, Tomich held the W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems.
His collaborator was food systems analyst Gail Feenstra of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, which is also based at UC Davis, along with senior researcher Sonja Brodt and graduate student Erica Chernoh.
“Once we figured out how to calculate the energy cost of a number of foods in a reliable way, we could label foods with their carbon footprint,” Feenstra said. “In transportation, it was an analysis of energy costs from the oil well to the wheel. In food, it’s farm to fork.”
— Sylvia Wright