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Click to play video. In the first video of our sustainability series farmers and experts discuss soil health, its impact
on climate change and the role of cover crops in modern farming systems.

Del Monte Foods, Panera, the Produce Mar- Localized production will have markets with
keting Association, Smuckers and the Western restaurants as well as retailers such as Walmart,
Growers Association. which has committed to buying 10% of its
produce from within the state where stores are
Many companies in the fruit and vegetable located, he said.
sector have focused their commitments on
water efficiency. One young company, BrightFarms, is growing
lettuce, spinach, arugula and basil hydroponi-
For example, in addition to its 2030 for zero cally in regional greenhouses and distributing
carbon emissions from its farms, Dole Foods them through 2,000 supermarkets, including
also is pledging to limit its water usage. Dole has Walmart and Kroger stores, in the Northeast,
specific 2025 goals to use 25% less water in fruit mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
processing and to have 75% of its fresh vegeta-
ble converted to drip irrigation. The company, which claims its products require
80% less water, 90% less land and 95% less fuel
In the long run, the U.S. industry may move for shipping than conventional field-grown leafy
toward more decentralized, localized produc- greens, recently announced that it secured $100
tion, much of it in greenhouses, said University million in financing to expand and expects to be
of Arkansas’ Matlock, who advises the Steward- in 15,000 stores by 2025.
ship Index for Specialty Crops. That will reduce
the sector’s environmental footprint by reducing Reducing food loss and waste is a key way to
food waste and transportation and shift some lower the greenhouse gas emissions of specialty
production from water short regions such as crops, because half of all vegetables produced in
California’s Central Valley. the U.S. are typically discarded, Matlock said.

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