Biodigestion – The methane released by the anaerobic decomposition of food waste and manure is the same chemical as natural gas and can be used in the same way for heat, electricity generation, and transportation fuel. Farms and food processors can use special equipment (digesters) to maximize and capture the methane produced.

Energy burden – Energy burden is defined as the percentage of gross household income spent on energy costs.

Food access – Limited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food may make it harder for some Americans to eat a healthy diet. There are many ways to measure food store access for individuals and for neighborhoods, and many ways to define which areas are food deserts—neighborhoods that lack healthy food sources. Most measures and definitions take into account at least some of the following indicators of access:

• Accessibility to sources of healthy food, as measured by distance to a store or by the number of stores in an area.
• Individual-level resources that may affect accessibility, such as family income or vehicle availability.
• Neighborhood-level indicators of resources, such as the average income of the neighborhood and the availability of public transportation.

Food systems – A food system includes everything from farm to table and waste disposal. A community food system is a food system in which food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management are integrated to enhance the environmental, economic, social and nutritional health of a particular place. A community food system can refer to a relatively small area, such as a neighborhood, or progressively larger areas – towns, cities, counties, regions, or bioregions.

Food security – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has defined food security as, “access by all members at all times to [have] enough food for an active, healthy life.” Food secure households experience little or no problems accessing nutritious food. Conversely, food insecure households report reduced quality of nutrition and even, at times, reduced food intake.

Soil carbon – Soils are a combination of weathered rock (the mineral portion of the soil) plus living and dead plants, animals, and microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi. The plants, animals, and microorganisms are composed primarily of water and carbon compounds, and they also release sugars and other carbon compounds into the soil. The total carbon contained in the soil in the form of these living and dead organisms and the carbon compounds they release forms the third largest carbon pool on earth, after the carbon contained in the earth’s crust and in the deep ocean. Land management that increases the amount of carbon stored in the soil can therefore have a significant effect on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is the main driver of global climate change.