At a school that originally allowed its students to bring sheep to class, farming is very important and much research on the subject is done on this campus. As science moves forward, organic farming operations are seen to be the answer to a host of society's problems.
According to the American Farmland Trust, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois are the third most threatened agricultural areas in the United States.
Lydia Zepeda, a UW-Madison professor of consumer science, saidmany Wisconsin farmers face hardships against agribusiness corporations and the U.S. government.
Organic and local food increases environmental sustainability, but it also increases economic sustainability as well... We have an intensive agricultural system that uses huge amounts of chemicals and petroleum both directly and indirectly in food production and it's a system that relies on farmers going bankrupt. On average, in Wisconsin, we lose three dairy farmers every day and this has been going on since the 1950s.\
""[Losing] three farmers a day translates into three families, so our rural communities are being lost because these people are part of them. They support local businesses, schools, you name it,"" she said.
Zepeda has spent much time researching organic food and consumer choices. She acknowledged that choosing to eat organically is a privilege that few in this country have, but more than that, she sees it as a social justice issue.
""Usually people buying organic are white, educated and live in wealthy areas where it is available to them. But are those the people who want it, or are those just the people who have the resources to buy it?"" she said.
""My studies with African-American women in Madison showed that they had interest in organic food, but lacked the resources to get it . These women spoke of it as a social justice issue and asked, ‘Why is it only available to those with money?' They suggested that there should be government subsidies to support the poor,"" she said.
Furthermore, Zepeda said she saw it as a national health issue as well. She thought the existing subsidies need to be modified.
""The whole agricultural program should be realigned with public health. We don't have a problem with people not getting enough food in this country, but we do have a problem with people getting enough nutritional food.""
While the USDA makes no claims about the health benefits of organic food, it does provide for a labeling system to accurately recognize food that is more than 95 percent organic.
To Zepeda, however, the health benefits of ""smarter"" subsidies are clear. Currently corn, soybeans and milk receive subsidies, but many other foods do not.
""We don't have subsidies for vegetables and fruit. We don't encourage farmers to grow that,"" Zepeda said. However, she felt other institutions should also be responsible for offering incentives for healthier foods.
""I think it's important to make a distinction between institutional food buyers and for-profit [food buyers]. Public schools need to be providing healthy lunches. I look at the lunches my children eat, and frankly, I am appalled. The university is an institution and should also be providing healthy choices. A university has some sort of obligation to provide healthy choices,"" Zepeda said.
However, organic food choices on campus are hard to find. In the campus dining halls, some organic items are available on the regular menu, including organic rice and soymilk, organic salad mix and apples, potatoes and corn chips—which happen to be locally grown as well. However, there are virtually no options at the student unions and delis on campus.
Julie Vincent, the food service director for the Union, said that it is not an issue discussed at the Union, claiming that the demand for organic choices is not there.
""We certainly would be offering the product if there was a demand for it and the student would buy it. Like any food service, we are consumer-driven,"" Vincent said. ""I don't really think about the issue personally, so I can understand how students would get caught up in their academic lives and not think about it either.""
There are several places off campus to find organic food. Local co-ops like those on Williamson, Mifflin and Regent streets, as well as grocery stores like Woodman's, 725 S. Gammon Rd., and Capitol Centre Foods, 111 N. Broom St., all offer organic choices.
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