Highwire Earth

Can university food procurement contribute to social and environmental justice? This new Highwire article looks at the relationship between universities, consumer food certifications, and environmental justice:

“University food procurement is a massive enterprise with a large societal impact. It has been suggested that this purchasing power be wielded for good: sustainability is a frequently cited aim for alimentary purchasing; social and environmental justice, while still relevant, are less commonly considered in this context. Social justice aims to eliminate inequities between discrete demographics. Environmental justice (EJ) falls under the wider umbrella of social justice: EJ is the notion that specific ecological burdens of society (like pollution and presence of hazardous pesticides) should be shared equitably across communities. Social and environmental justice are the cousins of sustainability; all three are a prerequisite to ethical spending. Both forms of justice can be difficult to quantify, making it difficult for institutions to gauge just spending habits. Some consumer certifications are touted as informative tools for doing so. We examine four major certifications: two which focus on sustainability, USDA Organic, and the Non-GMO Project, and two which focus on EJ, Fair Trade USA and the Rainforest Alliance. This article reveals potential blind spots in the certification process that should be considered as administrators attempt to improve social and environmental justice at the farm level. We conclude with advice for ethical university food purchasing.”

Assessing the Utility of Food Certifications in Advancing Environmental Justice Written by Shashank Anand, Hezekiah Grayer II, Anna Jacobson, and Harrison Watson Sustainability is the notion that we should consume with caution, as the Earth is a delicately balanced ecosystem w…

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Highwire Earth, a Princeton University sustainable development blog, is now on Instagram! We’ll keep you updated on the campus community’s work, events, and interests related to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The platform was created to foster discussion and share relevant research. We welcome your thoughts and contributions, and would love to help publicize your work! Submit your writing to [email protected] in 300-1800 words. If you’re interested in joining our team as an editor, let us know! #sustainabledevelopment #SDGs #UN #princeton

Last Spring, Highwire Earth collaborated with Climate Central and Princeton University Writing Center to offer a free scientific communication workshop. John Upton, Partnerships Journalism Editor at Climate Central, walked us through some writing and reporting guidelines for scientific journalism with stories from his experiences in the field. Then Judy Swan, Associate Director for Writing in Science and Engineering at the Princeton Writing Program helped workshop our attendees' pieces and article ideas. Thank you John and Judy!

We also thank Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton University Graduate School, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for the support and funding to cater this event.

Look out for more events like these in the future!