Food and Agriculture

Food Impacts and Trends

See more about food and sustainability at Pomona

Main issues

Definition of "sustainable food"
Effective implementation infrastructure
Increased purchases of sustainable food in campus dining facilities
Better food-related data and information
Increased awareness of issue

Objectives for 2020

Dining Services:
- 15% of total food purchases qualify as sustainable by 2015
- 30% of total food purchases qualify as sustainable by 2020
- 10% of total food purchases qualify as sustainable in more than one category by 2020
- 60% of produce purchases local by 2020
- 100% seafood purchases are Marine Stewardship Council certified, Aquaculture Certification Council certified, and/or Seafood Watch Guide "Best Choices" or "Good Alternatives" by 2015
Other dining establishments:
- Programs are in place to encourage the use of food items that qualify as sustainable.

Relevant policies/statements for adoption

Definition: Sustainable food

The College defines sustainable food as food items that meet one or more of the following characteristics:

Local

Produce: grown locally, ideally from an independently-owned small family farm.
All other foods: processed/prepared locally AND (a) processed/prepared by a small, locally-owned company AND/OR (b) contains only locally-grown/produced ingredients

Fair

Fair Trade Certified
Domestic Fair Trade Certified
Rainforest Alliance Certified

Humane

AGA grass-fed
Pasture raised
100% grass-fed
Certified Humane Raised and Handled
Cage-free

Sustainable Seafood

Marine Stewardship Council Certified
Aquaculture Certification Council Certified
Seafood Watch Guide "Best Choices" or "Good Alternatives"

Protected Harvest Certified
Food Alliance Certified
USDA Certified Organic
Other practices or certifications as determined by PACS

Additionally, food items will not be considered sustainable if:

Information is available that indicates that confinement/battery cages, child labor, slave labor, or indentured servitude are used in the production/processing of the items.
Information is available that indicates that food items qualified as sustainable under a certain characteristic are not actually in keeping with the intention of that characteristic (e.g. a locally grown produce item is transported to campus via a distribution center that is not local).
They contain harmful additives as determined by the PACS Sustainable Food Working Group.

Recommended potential actions

How will we reach these goals? See this document [pdf] for a list of potential actions the College might take and a list of comparable goals at other institutions.