In exploring the story of food, you’ll encounter a rich lexicon relevant to food, farming, and sustainability. Terms in italics can be found elsewhere in the glossary.
a garden on school grounds, often maintained by students and teachers and integrated into curriculum; see Edible education
Seasonal food
fruits or vegetables harvested and marketed at the time of year they naturally ripen
Seed bank
a repository for seed saving and storage
Seed saving
the practice of saving seeds to preserve crop diversity and ensure the cultivation of special crop varieties in the future; see Heirloom
Seed to table
the chain of relationships that it takes to get food to one’s plate, including cultivation, transportation, distribution, and access
Slow food
an international movement to preserve local food systems and traditional and regional cuisines
Specialty crops
fruits, vegetables, nuts, and flowers cultivated for food, medicine, or aesthetic purposes; in contrast to Commodity crops
Specialty products
high-quality products made in small batches and often limited to certain regions
Subsidies
government payments to farmers to control the amount of crops produced; the largest subsidies in the US are for commodity crops such as corn, cotton, wheat, rice, and soybeans
Subsistence crop
a crop grown to feed oneself, family, and livestock, in contrast to a Cash crop
Sustainable
meeting current environmental, economic, and social needs without compromising the well-being of future generations
Sustainable agriculture
farming that is socially just, humane, economically viable, and works with the natural environment rather than trying to control it
System
a collection of parts or components that interact with one another to function as a whole
Traceability
the ability to track the history of a food product through the production and distribution process
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)
the government agency that oversees agriculture and organic certification in the United States
Unprocessed food
see Whole food
Urban agriculture
the practice of growing, processing, and distributing food within a city
Value-added
describes products whose value has been increased through manufacturing or processing
Vegan
a person who does not eat animal products of any kind, including dairy and eggs
Vegetarian
a person who does not eat meat of any kind
Vitamins
organic compounds that are necessary in very small amounts to maintain health
Whole food
food in its unprocessed, natural state, such as raw fruit or unrefined grains
Workers’ rights
a set of laws and human rights related to the fair treatment of workers
World Health Organization (WHO)
an agency of the United Nations dedicated to international public health
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