Agriculture For the last 10,000 years humans have been practicing agriculture, or simply put, farming. Farming has allowed us to feed many people and have food year round Today’s farming is very different than it was in the past September 13

Traditional Agriculture Traditional, or conventional, agriculture is how most of our food is made. It is large scale, industrial and designed to make the most amount of food with the smallest amount of space September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

What you think it looks like.. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

What it really looks like… September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

What you think it looks like… September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

What it really looks like… September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Monocultures A monoculture is an area of land that only grows a large amount of one crop. This makes it very easy for pests to destroy the crops. As a result, pesticides are used. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Pesticides Pesticides damage soil and can run off into the surrounding area September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Pesticides If a small amount of the pests survives and are resistant to the pesticide, then they will repopulate and a stronger, more toxic pesticide must be used. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Fertilizers Since the soil gets degraded quickly, fertilizers must be added to the soil. Fertilizer runoff causes “eutrophication” which means “too much of a good thing” because the added nutrients cause algae to flourish and choke out aquatic ecosystems September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

of our current agricultural system? Where are we? What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of our current agricultural system? You can use this slide and the next two as a classroom activity. Have the students list the strengths and weaknesses of our agricultural system. Then compare their answers to the lists on the next two slides September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Successes abundant food supply in the developed world fresh fruits and vegetables available year-round cheap food luxury foods such as coffee, tea, chocolate, and spices easily available around the world effective food preservation technologies (refrigeration, freezing, canning, packaging) convenience foods mechanization produces high labor efficiency improvements in soil conservation availability of agricultural inputs for quick solutions to production problems September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Problems continuing soil loss food safety concerns (mad cow disease, food poisoning outbreaks, antibiotic resistance, toxins and pesticides) water pollution, air pollution (& odors), habitat loss, water depletion continuing hunger – and rise of obesity failing farms, economic uncertainty and stress declining communities farm accidents, chronic diseases linked to agricultural chemicals reliance on fossil fuels, global warming farmland loss to development, ugly countryside difficulty of starting in farming September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

What is Sustainable Agriculture? “…a journey, not a destination” Iowa Farmer No one has figured out the perfect way to farm, and probably no one ever will. So sustainable agriculture involves a continuing search for better ways to produce, process, and distribute food and fiber. Sustainable farmers are always asking what could be improved. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture “…an integrated system of plant and animal production practices…that will satisfy human food and fiber needs enhance environmental quality make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources sustain economic viability enhance quality of life.” 1990 Farm Bill This is how sustainable agriculture is defined in the 1990 Farm Bill. It does a good job of capturing the main elements of sustainable agriculture, but it is a little hard to remember the exact wording. See next slide. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

The three-legged stool of sustainability The definition of sustainable agriculture that is most widely used is the metaphor of a 3-legged stool. If one of the legs breaks, the whole stool will fall over. This metaphor tells us sustainable agriculture has to address three major areas: economics, the environment, and social factors or community. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Economically sustainable Provides a secure living for farm families Provides a secure living to other workers in the food system Provides access to good food for all What do we mean when we say sustainable agriculture has to be economically sustainable? At a minimum, individual farms have to be profitable, or they will not last long. But agriculture encompasses more than just farms. Economic sustainability also suggests that agriculture must provide and deliver food and fiber to the public. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Environmentally Sound Preserves the quality of soil, water, and air At a minimum, environmental sustainability means the preservation of the natural resources upon which agriculture depends. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Environmentally Sound Cooperates with and is modeled on natural systems Rather than trying to patch pollution problems one by one, sustainable agriculture tries to design a system that avoids polluting and depleting natural resources to begin with. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Socially sustainable Good for families Supports communities Fair to all involved A sustainable agriculture has to be good for people as well as the land and business. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

How to farm sustainably Farmers plant many different crops near each other so that a pest can’t destroy an entire crop Waste products are composted and used to replace nutrients in the soil. Crops are rotated to preserve the nutrients in the soil. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

How to farm sustainably Animals are treated fairly and given the freedom to move. Animals are not given unnecessary antibiotics. Animals are fed properly September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture

Conclusion Agriculture has accomplished much There are still many problems to solve, both old and new Sustainable agriculture is about trying to solve these problems – without creating new ones. September 13 Toward a Sustainable Agriculture