Food and Agriculture

Food producers supply billions of people with sustenance every day and have a major impact on water availability and quality, the effectiveness of antibiotics and the vitality of our wildlife and oceans.

Fortunately, leading producers are turning these concerns into environmental opportunities. Retailers are often rewarding these suppliers with premium pricing or improved product placement.

Make your animal operations more environmentally friendly

• Eliminate or reduce antibiotics - The use of antibiotics in meat production raises resistance concerns for humans who use the same antibiotics to fight disease.
• Improve water quality - Adopt best practices to reduce animal waste impacts on water quality.
• Protect habitats and species - Participate in programs and incentives to protect and preserve wildlife habitat on your lands.

Make your seafood operations more environmentally friendly

• Encourage catch shares - Producers can play a powerful role in advocating for improved fishery management structures.
• Get eco-certified - Let retailers know that your fishery and fishing methods are sustainable through the Marine Stewardship Council certification.

Source more sustainable food products for your stores

• Purchase responsibly farmed and eco-certified fish
• Work with suppliers to eliminate antibiotic use in meat and poultry

Examples: What food producers are doing

• Spurred by a partnership between McDonald’s and Environmental Defense Fund, Tyson Foods and other top poultry companies have eliminated their use of human antibiotics to promote growth in chickens.
• Environmental Defense Fund is working with hundreds of fishermen, like those in the Gulf Red Snapper fishery, to introduce “catch share” management systems in their fisheries. Studies show that catch shares can restore fish populations, increase revenue per boat, and reduce fishing hours and injuries.
• Thousands of acres of farms and ranchland now have improved wildlife habitat thanks to innovative partnerships. Under Safe Harbor agreements with government agencies, private landowners achieve regulatory freedoms in exchange for protecting waterways and improving habitat.
• Environmental Defense Fund partnered with northeast grocery chain Wegmans to develop environmentally preferable growing practices for farmed shrimp and salmon.