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”

• Urban Farming In The South Bronx

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  addictive_picassos Flickr photostream/Creative Commons Urban farming has become increasingly popular these days, as more city dwellers search for rooftops, backyards and abandoned lots where they can grow vegetables.  In addition to providing fresh, healthy produce where concrete and convenience stores once ...
  21 hours ago

• Martha Stewart Visits Brooklyn and Rooftop Farms

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  It’s hard not to love Martha Stewart. I mean she promote awesome things like eating well, cooking and crafting. Plus, she was one of Food, Inc ’s early champions sharing her love for the film with all of her Twitter followers! Well I am happy to report that Martha is now championing another project near and ...
  1 day ago

• Obama Nominates Pesticide Lobbyist as Chief Agricultural Negotiator

  
  Foodista Blog — Authority: 135
  Haven’t heard of Islam Siddiqui?  You should know him.  The Obama administration preferred if you didn’t, but you should know him.  Why?  Because he may soon have the power to directly influence the food you eat. President Obama recently nominated Islam Siddiqui to the role of Chief Agricultural Negotiator ...
  2 days ago

• Eat Meat, Ditch Factory Farming, Save the Planet, says Friends of the Earth Report

  
  TreeHugger — Authority: 727
  Photo credit: FotoosVanRobin via Flickr You dont have to be a vegetarian to eat green. Not only that, we can feed the fast-growing population of the planet, and slow down (and eventually stop) climate change, and stop destruction of the worlds forests, all without the deleterious effects of factory farming. So ...
  2 days ago

• Urban Farming Hassles

  
  Food Renegade — Authority: 530
  Urban farming. Depending on who you are and what you love, those two words either fill you with excitement or make you cringe. For those of us in the sustainable food movement, urban farming equals an opportunity to grow and produce food locally — often times right in our own yards or neighborhoods. For those of us ...
  2 days ago

• School Lunch Food Fight Ends In Arrest of 25 Chicago Students

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  cornelluniversitylibrarys Flickr photostream/Creative Commons We take school lunch very seriously here at TakePart, particularly efforts to increase access to healthy, local ingredients, but a Chicago middle-school may have gone a little overboard when they had 25 students arrested for a cafeteria food fight .  ...
  2 days ago

• A Slow Taste of Tuscany @ Onesto November, 18

  
  stlbites.com - st. louis food blog of bill burge — Authority: 91
  A Slow Taste of Tuscany St. Louis, MO / November 10, 2009 / www.slowfoodstl.org/sfstl_tuscan_dinner.pdf – Wednesday, November 18, 2009, join Slow Food St. Louis and Welcome Books as they team up with Onesto Pizza & Trattoria to present a celebration and special dinner commemorating the release of ...
  3 days ago

• Buying Local: To Buy or Not to Buy?

  
  Global Warming is Real — Authority: 513
  Buy Local: To Buy or Not to Buy We are told that buying local is better for the Earth and for people. The idea is that local products have a smaller environmental footprint than those produced more distantly. Advocates of buying local suggest that this preserves the environment while strengthening the local economy. ...
  3 days ago

• Follow Nathan: Recap of a Remarkable Journey

  
  Cool Green Science: The Conservation Blog of The Nature Conservancy — Authority: 546
  In August, we blogged here on the extraordinary cross-country bike journey of Nathan Winters (AKA, “Follow Nathan”) to raise money for The Nature Conservancy and raise awareness for climate change and sustainable agriculture. At that point, Nathan had just crossed the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, halfway ...
  3 days ago

• H1N1 Flu and Pork Production Connection Raised By Jonathan Safran Foer

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  kevinhutchinsons Flickr photostream/Creative Commons The vaccine for the H1N1 virus has received quite a bit of attention lately, however, important questions remain unattended about the origins of the vicious strain and the likely possibility that it spread from unsanitary conditions on factory pig farms.  ...
  4 days ago

• No Impact Man Screening Spectacular

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  The shopping frenzy of the holiday season is approaching quickly, but fortunately The No Impact Man Screening Spectacular will offer the chance for us to examine the impact that holiday spending has on our lives and the planet, and hopefully we can find saner, more sustainable ways to celebrate.  You’re invited ...
  5 days ago

• Embracing Cooking and My Camera

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  I moved into a new apartment last weekend and with all the positive energy that comes from being in a new space I made a resolution to eat less processed food and to cook more.  It is SO easy to eat out here in New York City (and anywhere really) and all too often I get lazy and eat food that is processed and that I ...
  5 days ago

• Farmer Veteran Coalition: Tanks to Tractors

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  markpeates Flickr photostream/Creative Commons The Farmer Veteran Coalition is an amazing organization that provides U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with the resources, tools and mentorships to help them find employment in farming communities around the country. I was thrilled to hear about the ...
  6 days ago

• FDA Cracks Down On Misleading “Smart Choices” Food Labels

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  mikelichts Flickr photostream/Creative Commons The FDA has announced plans to investigate the “Smart Choices” initiative, an industry-led nutrition labeling program, arguing that the labels may mislead the public by implying that sugary foods are healthy. I’m amazed that the “Smart Choices” label has ...
  1 week ago

• Jon Stewart as Glenn Beck on Appendicitis

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  Glenn Beck is almost always super frustrating to watch.  And while I try not to post about too often because it seems like it would just be giving him more of a platform, I was so enraged by his rant on vegetarianism and Meatless Monday’s last week that I couldn’t help but respond with a post. Well, I’ve ...
  1 week ago

• Season Extension: Compost and Thermal Mass

  
  One Straw: Be The Change — Authority: 108
  I love the Hoop House at our Market Garden.  I love that I can harvest spinach in March.  I love that I can plant my tomatoes in late April and still be picking into October.  I love that it was 85 degrees in there today and 70’s in January are a reality in my little [...]
  1 week ago

• The Cove and Food, Inc. Receive Cinema Eye Honors Nominations

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  The 2010 Cinema Eye Honors Nominees have been named and I am very very happy to report that The Cove has received a record-tying 7 nominations! It got nominations in the Production, Cinematography, Editing, Original Score, Debut Feature and the top prize, Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking ...
  1 week ago

• New Brew In Wolaver’s Organic Farmer Series!

  
  thefullpint.com - Beer News, Beer Reviews, Event Coverage. — Authority: 524
  The brewers of Wolaver’s organic ales have crafted another new beer as part of their seasonal Organic Farmers series. Morgan Wolaver and Brewmaster Mike Gerhart worked with neighbors at Vermont Coffee Company just down the ...
  1 week ago

• BPA Found In Canned Foods

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  stevendepolos Flickr photostream/Creative Commons New research from Consumer Reports reveals that many canned foods , including soups, juice and vegetables, contain measurable levels of Bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical that has been linked to a wide array of health issues such as reproductive abnormalities, cancer, ...
  1 week ago

• Food, Inc. Classroom Discussion Guide Now Available

  
  TakePart Social Action Network — Authority: 622
  The official Food, Inc. Discussion Guide is now available for download providing teachers with the resources to guide classroom conversations about the eye-opening documentary for student audiences, high school age and older.  The snazzy and impressively thorough 103-page guide was developed by the Center for ...
  1 week ago

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