You don’t have to be Captain Planet or even a far left tree-hugger to be eco-friendly. In fact, saving the environment is not a task left to just superheroes and politicians.

The University has taken several steps in the right direction to help promote a green campus, including the energy conservation bracelets and efforts for an energy efficient Tate II.

So why not take one more step by switching to an organic option in our campus dining halls?

Everybody knows the University’s Food Services program offers one of the top campus meal plans in the country.

It was flaunted to students as soon as we stepped onto campus for Orientation.

And I agree.

I am not going to lie, the meal plan was one of many reasons why I chose the University, and I will be more than a little upset if I don’t graduate on the four year plan – four years of meal plan, that is.

But there is room for improvement, and I don’t mean stop serving 3-day-old vegetables as “cheesy vegetable casserole.” What if the meal plan could switch to a local/organic option?

The idea is very plausible. Just last year, Emory University in Atlanta switched its meal plan to a local organic distributor and its meal plan is now filled with local organic food.

So what exactly is organic farming?

According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Organic Standards Board, organic agriculture is defined as “an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity.” Organic practices prohibit the use of hormones, antibiotics, and other animal drugs in animal feed.

Practices also focus on pest management. It strays from pesticides by cycling animal and green manures as fertilizer.

Sure, industrial farming is time and money efficient, but what about the economic, environmental and health costs society seems to ignore?

Take, for instance, the excessive use of pesticides. This all too common practice significantly contributes to male infertility, breast and prostate cancer and miscarriages in women.

Also, animals pumped with hormones and antibiotics have been linked to early development in children and immunity to medications.

Pesticide use not only affects humans but also air, soil, and water quality, which ultimately disturbs wildlife diversity.

Pesticides have been found to pollute virtually every lake, river and stream in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. They act as hormones that can lead to causing various mutations such as frogs with three legs or birds with two beaks.

Georgia is currently among the country’s smallest producers of organic food.

Switching to a local organic distributor would encourage growth in the sector of Georgia’s agricultural economy and give direct proceeds to local farmers rather than to industrial farms.

By switching to an organic option, there would be an increase in price; however, benefits such as fresher food, supporting a local farming economy and serving as a model for other university food service programs would certainly outweigh the cost.

A change is definitely practical and can be done quickly, perhaps even by the next school year, if Emory’s model is any indication.

Ecologically friendly campuses can surely make a difference in saving our planet, one small step at a time.

- Alex Berry is a senior from Newnan majoring in magazines.