Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture produces abundant food and fiber without polluting the environment or natural resources while promoting vibrant rural communities. Essentially, sustainable agriculture applies the three basic tenets of sustainability - economic, environmental and social - to agriculture and farming communities.

The term "sustainable agriculture" was legally defined by U.S. Congress in the 1990 Farm Bill 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."

Online resources include the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA, the acronym for its former name Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas), Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) and Center for Rural Affairs. A number of blogs address sustainable agriculture, including Tomorrow's Table, The Daily Table and U.S. Food Policy.

by Liz Marr, MS, RD Are you a writer, passionate about this or any other topic? Join Blogcritics!

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Sustainable agriculture”

• Sonoma Honored for Being Slow

  
  EcoSalon — Authority: 536
  How does a popular wine country town just outside of San Francisco become America’s first “cittaslow” city ? Apparently, as Sonoma discovered, by just being itself. Being slow is considered a bad thing in many parts of the world, but in Sonoma they embrace their slowness. As a result, they meet all the ...
  20 hours ago

• This is About Survival

  
  It's Getting Hot In Here — Authority: 583
  This post is provided on behalf of Project Survival Media – a grassroots, student-run media project designed to highlight the true costs of fossil fuels in the lead up to Copenhagen.  On the eve of the Copenhagen climate talks, communities and individuals around the planet are thinking about ...
  1 day ago

• Design Competition: Trellis About It!

  
  Kingfield — Authority: 123
  Are you interested in sustainability, gardening, architectural design or permaculture? How would you design a vertical growing system for melons & other vines that is low cost, durable & produces high quality fruit? Got an idea? Enter our juried design competition & help urban gardeners increase food ...
  1 day ago

• Farmers assert that genetically-engineered crops is not the answer

  
  Trends Updates — Authority: 581
  There is a price to pay for technology. Often, it is the environment, and eventually the world’s peoples, that pay this hefty price. ‘The costly development of technologies like GE as ’solutions’ to world hunger or climate change, mask their real socio-economic, environmental and political causes.’ Contrary ...
  3 days ago

• Public-Private Partnerships can help address climate change

  
  Announced Articles & Press Releases — Authority: 154
  Public-Private PartnershipsAs mentioned above, capacity building will be a key requirement for addressing climate change. In particular in developing countries, where agriculture is a predominant sector, generic capacity building has to go hand in hand with more targeted capacity building for science and technology. ...
  6 days ago

• Appropriate Trattorini: .5-2 acres

  
  One Straw: Be The Change — Authority: 110
  In my last post I talked through the Trattorini (small tractor) culture of Italy and much of southern Europe with a specific focus on mid scale permaculture plots from 5-40 acres.  Farming on this scale benefits significantly from mechanization as the endeavor reaches a scale that begins to measure harvests in tons ...
  6 days ago

• Healing People & Honoring Creation: Joel Salatin on Sustainable Agriculture

  
  zoecarnate — Authority: 553
  I was pleased to open up my copy of Sojourners this month and see an interview with one of my heroes, Joel Salain , founder of Polyface Farms .  Some sweet excerpts:   Jeannie Choi: What’s the vision behind Polyface farm? Joel Salatin: Healing—healing in all dimensions. We want to develop emotionally, ...
  1 week ago

• The Trattorini: Appropriate Technology for Mid Scale Permaculture

  
  One Straw: Be The Change — Authority: 110
  [IMG: http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=onestraw.wordpress.com&blog=2297289&post=914&subd=onestraw&ref=&feed=1]
  1 week ago

• Your Global Warming Thanksgiving

  
  Big Government — Authority: 812
  Let’s hope the Green dream of ending Turkey Day doesn’t come true. Happy Thanksgiving.
  1 week ago

• Interview with Patty Lovera, Assistant Director Food and Water Watch

  
  FriendsEAT.com — Authority: 432
  Making it easier for you to make the right choices As much as we are in love with food, we have come to recognize that in today’s world, food is not only a source of pleasure, but an incredibly complicated issue. How are foodies to enjoy a gorgeous piece of sushi when worried if it will ever be on the menu ...
  1 week ago

• Getting Back to the Business of Garden Blogging

  
  Veggie Gardening Tips — Authority: 100
  I know that I’ve been “missing in action” lately as far as posting articles, responding to comments, and managing the other activities around here and at the Gardening Secrets Newsletter, but it hasn’t been without good reason. You see I just returned from a second adventure at the Virgin Islands Sustainable ...
  1 week ago

• The New and Improved USDA Supports Local, Sustainable Food

  
  EcoSalon — Authority: 536
  I never thought I’d become a Facebook fan of a government agency, but I’m now a fan of the USDA and am also following the agency’s Twitter. What’s going on here? For one thing, the USDA has done more to reinvent itself in the last two months than you can imagine. The agency apparently wants you to know the ...
  1 week ago

• Upper West Side: Bruni, Forer to Discuss Ethical Eating at Dec. 7 JCC Panel

  
  Food and Things — Authority: 466
  If you’d like to chew on ethical eating issues, the JCC Dec. 7 will be presenting a panel discussion titled : Who Knew Food Could be So Fraught ? It used to be that eating ethically was about filling up your stomach. These days, of course, diners must consider a long list of dos and don’ts even ...
  1 week ago

• Contaminants in Urban Lakes and Streams from Pavement Sealcoat

  
  Solutions for Sustainable — Authority: 100
  Wading through the sources of lake contamination Contamination of urban lakes and streams by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is widespread and has been increasing over the last 40 years in the United States. PAHs are Toxic These PAHs can be toxic to bottom-dwelling organisms, can cause tumors in ...
  1 week ago

• The Kel Word: Chew on This

  
  Velvetpark | Dyke Culture in Bloom — Authority: 143
  After spending two months on an organic farm and lots more time than that mulling the matter, I have come to regard food security and sustainable agriculture as two incredibly under-valued initiati
  1 week ago

• Copenhagen: An Anti-Globalization Movement Comes of Age

  
  World Change Cafe — Authority: 120
  By Naomi Klein, The Nation The book is a fascinating account of what really happened in Seattle, but when I spoke to David Solnit, the direct-action guru who helped engineer the shutdown, I found him less interested in reminiscing about 1999 than in talking about the upcoming United Nations climate change summit in ...
  2 weeks ago

• Fight Hunger With SocialVibe’s Thanksgiving Feast

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 577
  Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and while many of us envision a table overflowing with a delicious feast, unfortunately the dinner table won’t look the same for the one billion people around the world who suffer from hunger.  So, this holiday season SocialVibe is inviting you to help fight hunger and ...
  2 weeks ago

• 6 Ways Agriculture Impacts Global Warming

  
  TreeHugger — Authority: 675
  Photo credit: SugarCreekPhoto via Flickr Sure, agriculture provides us with the food we all eat every day. But do you know how those agricultural practices impact global warming? Turns out theres some pretty big impacts, on both the sustainable and industrial sides of the equation; employing sustainable practices, ...
  2 weeks ago

• Slow Food NYC Online Auction Underway

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 577
  Slow Food NYC started a 10 day online auction yesterday with proceeds set to benefit Slow Food NYC’s Harvest Time in Schools Program. The auction is going to run from November 18 through November 28 and features some pretty awesome items if you’re into food. Check out some of my favorite selections below.  ...
  2 weeks ago

• Online Chat with Food and Water Watch and Community Food Service Coalition

  
  FriendsEAT.com — Authority: 432
  A Must Watch For Any Foodie Food, Inc . has opened the eyes of foodies to the many issues that plague the commercial food industry. The film is alarming and has left many people wondering what they can do about such large issues. For those who are interested in learning more about the subject and on what to do to ...
  2 weeks ago

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