Sustainable agriculture is a way of
raising food that is healthy for
consumers and animals, does not harm
the environment, is humane for
workers, respects all living beings,
provides a fair wage to the farmer,
and supports and enhances rural
communities and local commerce.
Residents of
Monterey are lucky to live in a region dubbed
the "Salad Bowl" and "Artichoke Capital of the
World" with plenty of fresh produce available
year round. Fruit and vegetable exports
are some of the biggest business in the area.
Our local area
should also be a haven for sustainable
agriculture, but in reality most of the local
agriculture is conventional: using pesticides,
fungicides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers,
and monoculture crops.
"Sustainable agriculture takes many forms,
but at its core is a rejection of the
industrial approach to food production
developed during the 20th century.
This
system, with its reliance on monoculture,
mechanization, chemical pesticides and
fertilizers, biotechnology, and government
subsidies, has made food abundant and
affordable. However, the ecological and
social price has been steep: erosion;
depleted and contaminated soil and water
resources; loss of biodiversity;
deforestation; labor abuses; and the decline
of the family farm.
The concept of sustainable agriculture
embraces a wide range of techniques,
including organic, free-range, low-input,
holistic, and biodynamic.
The common thread among these methods is
an embrace of farming practices that mimic
natural ecological processes. Farmers
minimize tilling and water use; encourage
healthy soil by planting fields with
different crops year after year and
integrating croplands with livestock
grazing; and avoid pesticide use by
nurturing the presence of organisms that
control crop-destroying pests.
Beyond growing food, the philosophy of
sustainability also espouses broader
principles that support the just treatment
of farm workers and food pricing that
provides the farmer with a livable income.
Critics of sustainable agriculture claim,
among other things, that its methods result
in lower crop yields and higher land use.
They add that a wholesale commitment to its
practices will mean inevitable food
shortages for a world population expected to
exceed 8 billion by the year 2030. There's
recent evidence, though, suggesting that
over time, sustainably farmed lands can be
as productive as conventional industrial
farms."
Of
course, sustainable agriculture is not
controlled on a national level, but on a local
level instead. Local farms and local
consumers are the immediate beneficiaries of
sustainable agriculture. It is important
to support your local agricultural communities
by buying local
and shopping at the
farmer's
market.
The
federal government also has a definition, put
forth in the 1990 Farm Bill. It defines
sustainable agriculture as:
"An integrated
system of plant and animal production
practices having a site-specific application
that will, over the long term, satisfy human
food and fiber needs; enhance environmental
quality and the natural resource base upon
which the agricultural economy depends; make
the most efficient use of nonrenewable
resources and on-farm resources and
integrate, where appropriate, natural
biological cycles and controls; sustain the
economic viability of farm operations; and
enhance the quality of life for farmers and
society as a whole."
Sustainable
and organic are not necessarily synonyms.
Producers who practice sustainable agriculture
have to meet a wide range of criteria in order
to be certified by the national regulatory body
that is part of the US Department of
Agriculture. For example, such a farms must:
Use a range of natural pest controls, such
as beneficial insects, careful weather
monitoring and scouting;
Use the least toxic pesticides when natural
methods don't work;
Improve soil by natural methods, such as
crop rotation and compost;
Protect clean drinking water and fish
habitat by providing buffer zones in
riparian areas;
Provide wildlife habitat and encouraging
residency by growing some year round
vegetative cover for shelter and food;
Take into consideration quality of life
issues for their farm workers and their
communities when making daily farm
management decisions;
Continually improve their farming practices
to make them more environmentally sound,
socially just and economically viable.
Because “organic” is highly regulated and
barriers to entry high, large food corporations
have made significant headway into organic
products, sometimes following the letter, rather
than the spirit, of the law. Examples are on
this chart:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/orgChart.pdf
This doesn’t mean that the major brands are
“bad” just that they are not owned by small
local family farms as they would have you
believe. “Organic” labeling does not regulate
carbon foot prints. Locally grown produce is
always more sustainable in the sense that it has
a reduced carbon footprint and greater economic
impacts for your community.
Why
is Sustainable Farming Important?
Sustainable
farming meets environmental, economic, and
social objectives simultaneously.
Environmentally sound agriculture is
nature-based rather than factory-based. Economic
sustainability depends on profitable
enterprises, sound financial planning, proactive
marketing, and risk management. Social
sustainability results from making decisions
with the farm family's and the larger
community's quality of life as a value and a
goal. This publication discusses the principles
of environmental, economic, and social
sustainability, and provides practical examples
of how to apply them on the farm.
(Source)
Topsoil Retention
Since the beginning
of the “Green Revolution” we have become
increasingly dependent on synthetic,
petroleum-based fertilizers that have polluted
waterways and damaged ecosystems. One of the
results is that topsoil—the outermost and most
important layer of soil—is losing nutrients. If
these nutrients are not replenished, the soil
will suffer from nutrient depletion and be
unsuitable for further farming.
Additionally, topsoil is being lost at an
alarming rate because conventional agriculture
often leaves soil exposed to elements and it
ends up becoming displaced; unfortunately, it
takes extensive time and natural cycles to
generate new topsoil. Development and
desertification, in addition to erosion, all
contribute to this loss.
The Dust Bowl of the
1930's was caused by massive topsoil
degradation. Oftentimes, people don't
think about how important is dirt to our entire
global agricultural system and our daily lives!
Dirt! the Movie is a great resource for
educators and interested parties:
Nutrition
Our food is less nutritious: less vitamins,
fiber, and minerals even in our regular old
fruits and vegetables. According to a
study in Canada by The Globe and Mail News,
fruits and vegetables sold in supermarkets have
dramatically less nutrients than they did 50
years ago. “Modern farming methods, long-haul
transportation and crop-breeding practices are
all believed to be contributing to the drop in
vitamins and minerals” found in conventionally
grown foods as a trade-off for higher yield,
transportability, and aesthetics.
A sustainable farm plants cover crops such as
clovers, soybeans, rye, buckwheat and others to
help stop erosion, while also using
poly-cropping increases resistance to diseases
and prevent nutrient loss. The combination of
poly and cover crops
help hold the soil and improve the water
infiltration rate, thus reducing run-off when
the field is put back into an annual crop.
Additionally, the diversity of food that we eat
is reduced. There are much fewer varietals
of apples, beef, and carrots available widely.
Eating heirloom or diversified varieties of
fruits and vegetables can be exciting and
delicious. For more on biodiversity in our
food system, see
this report by the FAO - UN Food and
Agriculture Organization.
Water
Use
Although rainfall is
available at sufficient levels to grow crops in
some areas, most crops in our current
agriculture system require irrigation. For an
irrigation system to be sustainable it avoids
salt accumulation and does not use more water
from its source than is naturally replenished.
Technological improvements have made it possible
to grown crops where we couldn’t before because
of inadequate rainfall, but this progress has
come at a price: in many areas where this has
occurred, such as the Ogallala Aquifer, the
water is being used at a greater rate than its
rate of recharge. This means that such sources
will no longer by able to meet the demands of
current crop production, not to mention any
future utility.
Labor
In California, farm workers harvest crops at
standards which are below acceptable social
standards in other forms of employment. The
needs of migrant labor for year-round employment
and adequate housing are a particularly crucial
problem needing immediate attention. To be more
sustainable, farm workers must be acknowledged
and supported by government policies, recognized
as important constituents of land grant
universities, and carefully considered when
assessing the impacts of new technologies and
practices.
Though generally not applicable to U.S. grown
crops, crops that are Fair Trade Certified --
coffee is the most common product -- ensure that
workers and growers are treated more justly.
TransFair is the only certifying body based
in the US.
Where
Can I Buy Sustainable Foods?
The website
www.sustainabletable.org/shop/
provides resources for local sustainable food
purchasing. You should also try your local
farmer’s
market. Be sure to ask them about their
growing practices.
There are several local groups dedicated to
sustainable agriculture, including:
technologies and
practices. 
