Agriculture: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:05, 7 July 2010

Sustainability of current agriculture

Our current food system is not sustainable. Development, especially urban sprawl, is shrinking the agricultural land base. We use large amounts of energy, chemicals, synthetic fertilizers and water,

Food is produced far from the point of consumption, which is a factor in the ecological impact of the food; it also makes truly fresh produce a rare luxury. Local food is a response to these concerns

Global food production

While the Green Revolution massively increased food production after World War II and helped prevent the widespread famine that was predicted, it also increased the use of monocultures, fertilizers and pesticides.

While population growth rates are slowing,^{[verification needed]} there is still a need for increased food production. Improved knowledge about natural processes in food production, especially soil science, about the benefits of

Biofuels

Biofuels from crops have begun to compete with food crops, resulting in increased food prices and thus hunger.

Alternatives

Community gardens and other forms of urban agriculture offer alternatives, with benefits in improved food quality, freshness and variety, richness of experience, education and building of social connections. These are potentially more sustainable through waste management (composting and possibly greywater reuse), reduced goods transport and possible economic benefit.

Important as these measures are, there is little prospect of this becoming the major source of food in the foreseeable future. For this reason, it is essential to improve the sustainability of commercial agriculture, from Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) to very large-scale farms.

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Interwiki links

External links

Community Supported Agriculture for Urban Lifestyles - WorldChanging, June 3, 2005. A flexible model of community-supported agriculture.

OurFuturePlanet - Agriculture and Food

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 {{topic header| default.png |Agriculture}}
-Much of the agriculture content on Appropedia is related in some way to [[permaculture]], even if it is not one of the pages in that category.
-{{Browsetopic}}
+== Sustainability of current agriculture ==
+Our current food system is not sustainable. Development, especially [[urban sprawl]], is shrinking the agricultural land base. We use large amounts of energy, chemicals, synthetic fertilizers and water,
+Food is produced far from the point of consumption, which is a factor in the ecological impact of the food; it also makes truly fresh produce a rare luxury. [[Local food]] is a response to these concerns
+== Global food production ==
+While the [[Green Revolution]] massively increased food production after World War II and helped prevent the widespread famine that was predicted, it also increased the use of [[monocultures]], [[fertilizers]] and [[pesticides]].
+While population growth rates are slowing,{{fact}} there is still a need for increased food production. Improved knowledge about natural processes in food production, especially [[soil]] science, about the benefits of
+== Biofuels ==
+[[Biofuels]] from crops have begun to compete with food crops, resulting in increased food prices and thus hunger.
+== Alternatives ==
+[[Community gardens]] and other forms of [[urban agriculture]] offer alternatives, with benefits in improved food quality, freshness and variety, richness of experience, [[education]] and building of social connections. These are potentially more sustainable through [[waste management]] ([[composting]] and possibly [[greywater reuse]]), reduced [[goods transport]] and possible economic benefit.
+Important as these measures are, there is little prospect of this becoming the major source of food in the foreseeable future. For this reason, it is essential to improve the sustainability of [[commercial agriculture]], from [[Community Supported Agriculture]] (CSAs) to very large-scale farms.
+{{stub}}
 == Interwiki links ==