EDF's Sustainable Sourcing Initiative aims to promote sustainable grain production practices to feed a growing population while stabilizing the climate and protecting resources. EDF collaborates with various players in the food supply chain including farmers, retailers, grain buyers, and technology companies. Current collaborations include working with Smithfield Foods/Murphy-Brown to promote optimal fertilizer management and with United Suppliers to advance their program targeting nutrient use efficiency and soil health on 10 million acres by 2020. EDF looks to expand these types of collaborations to other industries like beef and help set goals and engage the supply chain to improve practices around fertilizer optimization and soil health.

1. EDF’s Sustainable Sourcing Initiative
Maggie Monast
Senior Policy Analyst

2. Why is sustainable grain
production important to EDF?

3. Sustainability Challenges
PEOPLE
Feeding a growing
population, with
increasing protein
demand
PLANET
GHG emissions,
“dead zones”,
drinking water
PROSPERITY
Economic
challenges from
extreme weather
and price
fluctuations
SOLUTIONS

4. What is Needed:
• Maintain or increase grain
production
• Increase efficiency
• Reduce fertilizer loss
• Increase landscape resilience
Feed
9 Billion
People
Stabilize
Climate
Protect
Drinking
Water
Restore
dead
zones

5. What is EDF’s approach to
supply chain sustainability?

6. FARMERS
EDF’s Sustainable Sourcing Initiative
RETAILERS
Advocate for
performance-
focused
approach to
sustainability
FOOD
COMPANIES
Collaborate to
develop and
implement strong
fertilizer
optimization plans
Identify, evaluate,
and improve tools
and service
offerings available
to farmers
GRAIN BUYERS,
LIVESTOCK
Engage to help
farmer education
and data
collection efforts
INFORMATION
SERVICES &
TECHNOLOGY
Increase
awareness and
use of tools and
services available

7. Fate of Corn Grown in the U.S.
Animal Feed
38%
Ethanol
37%
Processed
Food
12%Export
8%
Surplus
5%
Source: National Corn Growers Association

8. What are some of EDF’s current
collaborations?

9. Smithfield Foods/Murphy-Brown
• Largest pork producer in
the world
• How to respond to
Walmart’s request for a
fertilizer optimization plan
and boost local grain?
• Goal: 75% of corn
sourcing acreage and
60% of wheat sourcing
acreage in optimal
fertilizer management by
2018
Works for the
business as a whole

10. • Agricultural wholesale
cooperative owned by
thousands of local retail
locations
• SUSTAIN: program to
promote nutrient use
efficiency and soil health
• Goal: 10 million acres
engaged in SUSTAIN by 2020
• 2015 pilots in IA, KS, MO,
NE, IL, OH
United Suppliers
Turn-key program
to meet
sustainability goals

11. How can EDF collaborate with
the beef industry?

12. 1. Set goals and objectives
2. Engage feed supply chain to advance nutrient use
efficiency and soil health measures
 Identify priority sourcing regions
 Process focused on performance across sourcing regions, not
segregated supply or traceability of grains themselves
 Collaborative process to identify tools, technologies, platforms for
improving NUE, soil health
 Involve key players - grower groups, ag retailers, technology
providers, advisory infrastructure, and more
3. Data collection and documentation to prove
performance while fully protecting individual farmer
confidentiality
4. Communicate benefits
5. Replicate results
Project Development Process

13. Contact:
Maggie Monast
Senior Policy Analyst
Environmental Defense Fund
mmonast@edf.org