Georgia Tech Sustainable Food Project
The Georgia Tech Sustainable Food Project (GT-SFP) is working with the Georgia Tech community and local farmers to bring fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables to your plate.
We are currently running two campus-based pioneer programs and chair an institutional committee to support bringing more local, sustainably grown foods to campus as well as improving the waste management and recycling practices in our dining locations:
Campus Supported Agriculture Program
The GT-SFP Campus Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program works with 27 local family farms through a farming cooperative called Moore Farms and Friends. We bring the Georgia Tech campus fresh organic locally grown and raised foods from produce to meats, dairy, and breads.
East Campus Community Garden
The Georgia Tech Community Garden Group coordinates a small community garden on the north quad of the east campus dormitories outside of Field Dormitory at the corner of Bobby Dodd and Centennial Olympic Park.
Sustainable Food Committee
If you are interested in taking part in our biweekly research and recommendations committee with campus organizations, the administration, dining, waste, and auxillary services we would love to hear from you!
Why local food?
- Local food is fresher and more nutritious than factory farm food. Local farmers grow fruits and vegetables for taste and nutrition instead of shipping robustness and long shelf-life.
- Local food strengthens local rural economies and communities. Buying locally puts your money back into your community and stengthens community relationships.
- Local food supports family farms and fair healthy jobs. Every week more than 300 family farms are forced out of business. Buy local to support family business and fair wages for farmers. Organic foods are made without toxic pesticides and herbacides which create severe health problems for farmers.
- Local food is empowered and informed food. Developing a relationship with your farmer means that you decide how your food is grown.
- Local food benefits the environment. Local food travels less distance between the farm and your plate and uses less petrochemicals than factory farms mitigating climate change, oil dependence, and toxic runoff.
Why vegetarian foods?
- Vegetarian diets require less land, resources and energy to produce than diets heavy in meat.
- A reduction in the demand for meat and other animal biproducts will decrease the amount of animal waste produced in the process. Animal waste is known to pose environmental hazards ranging from groundwater contamination to greenhouse gas emissions.
- Eating less meat will also result in an overall increase in the amount of food and water available for human consumption. According to the most conservative estimates, 2.6 pounds of grain and 435 gallons of water are required to produce a single pound of beef. Many others claim that as many as 16 pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water are necessary to produce this amount. Cornell University has stated that as many as 800 million people could be fed by the food that is given to livestock in the United States alone.
- Study by the University of Chicago on Vegan Diets and their effects on Human and Environmental Health
