Glossary
Have you ever heard of “SOLE” food before? Neither had we, so we rallied our team of real food experts to tell us all about it and more than 300 other terms, phrases and catchwords related to sustainable foods and farming. Begin your search by clicking on a category below to narrow the field or browse by alphabetical listing. Now you won't have to think twice the next time you're deciding between “free-range” and “organic” eggs at the farmers' market.
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Vat Pasteurized Milk
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Vat pasteurization is a method of pasteurization commonly used in low-temperature pasteurization that processes liquids in batches rather than with the continuous stream method more commonly used in high-temperature pasteurization.
Vegan
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Vegan food products do not contain meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or dairy. Many people who keep a vegan diet also avoid honey, fur, leather, silk and wool as well as cosmetics and chemicals that were tested on animals. Vegans also avoid animal by-products, such as gelatin and lard. The best way to ensure that a food product is 100% vegan is to look for the Certified Vegan label, which is independently verified and therefore a reliable indication of the absence of any animal product from the food. Otherwise, food producers and manufacturers may not be reliable in their use of this term or sufficiently specific in their listing of ingredients.
Vegan Farming
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Farmers who follow the practice of vegan farming do not raise animals and they avoid the use of animal manure or slaughterhouse by-products (such as bone meal as fertilizer). Some growers note that this lack of inputs can make vegan farming less expensive than both organic and conventional methods. Since some people associate animal husbandry with animal exploitation, vegan farming addresses that concern and provides an alternative production method. See also Vegetarian Farming.
Vegetarian
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Vegetarian foods do not contain meat, poultry or seafood (or their derivatives, such as chicken broth or natural meat flavoring). Some vegetarians also refrain from consuming by-products of animal slaughter, such as gelatin and rennet. There are several types of vegetarianism: vegetarians who eat fish but no meat or poultry are sometimes referred to as pescatarians, while those who consume eggs, honey and dairy products are often called ovo-lacto vegetarians. A person may adopt a vegetarian diet for a variety of reasons including ethical, health, environmental, political, religious, economic or other objective.
Vegetarian Farming
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Vegetarian farms raise animals for the products and services they are able to provide, such as milk, eggs and fertilizer in the form of manure, but the animals are never slaughtered for consumption. See also Vegan Farming.
Vegetarian Feed
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Since livestock feed may contain mammalian or poultry slaughter by-products, many farmers now market their animal products as having been raised on vegetarian feed, which contains no meat, poultry or fish-based ingredients. This diet reduces the potential for latent animal diseases, such as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or Mad Cow Disease).
VeriFlora Certified Sustainably Grown, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS)
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VeriFlora is a certification and labeling program designed for the floriculture and horticulture industries, specifically potted plants and fresh cut flowers. It is administered by Scientific Certification Systems, a reputable, global third-party certifier. The VeriFlora program evaluates farmers, distributors, wholesalers and florists and rates their practices and products based on the following elements: environmental sustainability, social and economic sustainability and product integrity. Certification requires on-site inspections, document audits and detailed interviews as well as annual follow-ups.
Vermont Certified Organic, Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF)
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The Vermont Certified Organic program is offered by Vermont Organic Farmers, a USDA-accredited organic certifying agent managed by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). Vermont Organic Farmers certifies crop and livestock producers as well as food processing operations according to the USDA’s National Organic Program.
