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This chapter gives a history of organic farming and the biological technologies that organic farmers rely upon. Based on present trends, consumer demand and organic-based research are likely to increase. This raises the question of whether GE varieties can help forge a future sustainable agriculture.

This chapter proposes that the way forward will be a prosperous and sustainable agriculture sector deeply rooted in the concept of sustainable intensification (SI): producing more with less, using inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides more prudently, adapting to climate change, reducing GHG emissions, improving natural capital such as soil moisture capacity and the diversity of pests' enemies, and building resilience. One approach to SI is to employ precision agriculture, ensuring that inputs—whether nutrients, pesticides, seeds, or water—are used in a precise, sparing, effective, and strategic way in order to minimize their environmental impact. Thus microdosing permits the prudent, targeted use of inputs such as fertilizers, thereby improving soil quality and moisture while reducing the environmental impact that excessive use can cause. It also reduces costs and helps improve nutrient use efficiency and protection against drought. Precision farming focuses on just one aspect of SI. More generally, it is a concept that includes three mutually reinforcing pillars: ecological intensification, genetic intensification, and socioeconomic intensification.

The National Group for Urban Agriculture (GNAU) in the Ministry of Agriculture has been designated as the lead institution in the urban agriculture effort in Cuba. Their (and other Cuban experts') views on what constitutes urban, sustainable agriculture open the discussion in this chapter. Land-tenure institutions and different modalities of production—organóponicos, huertas intensives, parcelas, and patios—within urban agriculture are briefly covered. GNAU, at the top of a pyramid that includes Groups of UA at the provincial and municipal levels, publishes a Manual Tecnico de Organopónicos and oversees the 28 subprograms that make up urban agriculture, three of which are discussed in some detail. It also carries out a program of site visits, and has an inspection and evaluation function. On the executive, administrative side, GNAU is complemented by a system of granjas urbanas and urban-agriculture representatives. Together they constitute a system of “centralized decentralization.”

This chapter discusses the importance of civic agriculture for agriculture-of-the-middle producers. Civic agriculture is the amalgamation of food production in the community and local agriculture. Its importance of civic agriculture for the economic, social, and cultural growth of communities is discussed, and a comparison between civic agriculture and conventional agriculture, with an emphasis on the ill effects of industrial agriculture, is presented. The chapter discusses the problem-solving feature of civic agriculture, which differentiates it from the industrial agriculture model in terms of the farming and food production approach. It explores the commonality between sustainable, civic, and agriculture-of-the-middle producers, while highlighting the differences between sustainable agriculture and industrial agriculture.

This chapter showcases the work of California’s pesticide drift activists, who address their environmental concerns by advocating for regulatory restrictions on the use of the most-toxic and unruly pesticides. It shows that pesticide drift activism is a critical reaction to the longstanding inadequacies and more recent neoliberalization of the pesticide regulatory apparatus, as well as to the sustainable agriculture movement’s reliance on market-based practices. Pesticide drift activists mobilize their anger about pesticide exposure not by giving up on the state but by holding it responsible for reducing environmental hazards that threaten human health. Their work illustrates why stronger health-protective pesticide regulations are necessary and demonstrates that they are possible.

This chapter explores how the concept of sustainable agriculture is being defined, redefined and restored in Hawaiʻi, through the traditions and resurgence of kalo (taro) farming—the first, oldest, and culturally most significant food crop in the state. At the peak of Hawaiian cultivation, 29,700 farmers turned to wetland kalo systems. On that note, the Taro Security and Purity Task Force legislative report addressed the issue of sustainable agriculture wholly within the context of kalo. The task force met with taro farming communities on all the main islands over the course of a year to record the complexity of issues facing taro farmers and make recommendations for its survival.

This chapter argues that food activists need to look beyond the politics of their plates to engage with broader questions of racial and economic inequalities, strategy and political transformation. It grounds the examples that follow in two ongoing scholarly debates. The first regards the role of inequalities, particularly of race and class, in shaping past and present industrial and alternative food systems. The second looks to strategies and tactics. While some have argued that the provision of relatively apolitical alternatives to industrial food systems lays the groundwork for transformative change, the editors of this volume urge activists to follow those profiled in this book towards more cooperative, oppositional and collective strategic choices. The introduction ends with an overview of the chapters to come.

Leading up to the passage of the OFPA, the organic movement grew into a coalition of several interests and organizations, including organic farmer associations, consumer groups, environmentalists and others. Some minor fissures emerged given the different interests of these groups, but a significant division would develop concerning movement strategy. “Spreaders” is the term used to refer to those who prioritize the rapid expansion of the organic sector. They see a role for big agribusiness firms and are willing to make compromises for the sake of expanding the market. In contrast “tillers” favor maintaining rigorous standards and limiting the organic field to small independent farmers serving local markets. Despite the tensions that were beginning to arise within the organic coalition, a draft organic rule proposed by the USDA in 1997 that violated many traditional organic principles unified the movement in opposition and brought unprecedented mobilization. The USDA backed down and a revised rule acceptable to the organic community officially took effect in 2002. But the stage was set for more internal divisions and an eventual splintering of the organic movement.

This chapter provides a summary of and conclusion to the book and the archaeology work at Chan. The 2000-year history of the Maya farming community of Chan is instructive of the intellectual breadth and innovative nature of life in a farming community. Chan's residents innovated sustainable agriculture and forest management strategies that were among the environmentally effective strategies that enabled the establishment of a long-lived community. Avoidance of extremes of wealth and power, more equitable distribution of goods, consistency in health, and development of a communal focus in ritual and politics are some of the socially effective strategies established by residents.

This chapter discusses the efforts of Ben Stinner and Bob Bargar to find a way to get the message of sustainable agriculture out to the public and to farmers being overwhelmed by high chemical, fuel, and machinery costs. Barger's idea came from the question of whether or not they could harness the activities in the arts in local communities to tell the story. During the course of their planning, they hit upon the idea of using photochoreography, which had previously been used by James Westwater. This process combines multiscreen slideshows with orchestral performances of classical music that fit the subject of the images. This sparked a trend of using classical music to underline the artistry latent in farming, and it highlights the influence of farming on more recognized kinds of classical music.

This chapter focuses on the importance of encouraging college students to include environmental stewardship as part of their vocation. It points out that the protection of nature is a universal value, important to cultures and religions worldwide. Understanding and preserving our cultural and personal relationships with nature leads to happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives. Students learn to better understand the natural world and feel a sense of responsibility to use nature wisely through outdoor fieldwork and service opportunities. Institutional support enables students to practice environmental stewardship at many levels, from natural habitat restoration to sustainable agriculture, energy conservation, and green building design. Through courses on and off-campus, as well as research and internship opportunities, students gain knowledge and practice in sustainable living. Incorporating good ecological citizenship into daily life at college makes it likely that environmental stewardship will become part of our student’s vocations in the future.

The use of emerging technology and indigenous knowledge to promote sustainable agriculture will require adjustments in existing institutions. New approaches will need to be adopted to promote close interactions between government, business, farmers, academia, and civil society. The aim of this chapter is to identify novel agricultural innovation systems of relevance to Africa. It will examine the connections between agricultural innovation and wider economic policies. Agriculture is inherently a place-based activity, and thus the chapter will outline strategies that reflect local needs and characteristics. Positioning sustainable agriculture as a knowledge-intensive sector will require fundamental reforms in existing learning institutions, especially universities and research institutes. University-industry linkages and agricultural clusters are especially important. Specifically, key functions such as research, teaching, extension, and commercialization need to be much more closely integrated.

This chapter explores how intentional communities strive for interdependence or regional self-sufficiency in areas such as transportation, building, and food. These communities link themselves to individuals and communities in broader networks of interdependence, sharing goods, information, and expertise. They run demonstrations and workshops—open source education—to pass on skills that contribute towards self-sufficiency and negotiate legal obstacles such as building codes. These communities experiment in areas including: natural building, sustainable agriculture, alternate currencies and time banks, and alternate energy such as bio-fuel. Communities that identify as feminist still must address tensions that arise when women enter male-dominated areas such as building.

Not only does the return to localism make ecological sense on its own terms—given the shortages of energy, food, and many other resources—it also makes sense because small face-to-face groups have always been considered the basis for authentic participatory democracy. Indeed, independent of ecological crisis, a return to the local is good for democracy generally. What is more, there is an emerging and vibrant “relocalization” movement that can and should be built upon. Although it mostly flies under the radar, this movement not only seeks to develop a sustainable way of life, but it also constitutes an important anchor for holding on to and extending participatory democratic governance. After detailing the practices of relocalization, the chapter turns to theories that support it in the face of environmental crisis, in particular the theoretical contributions of Sale, Bookchin, and Bahro.

The transition toward sustainable agriculture that is good both for the environment and for human health remains one of the world’s most pressing challenges. Amid these concerns scientists added new genetic engineering tools that could help to control pests with minimal use of insecticides. This technology opened up opportunities to increase food production while reducing the impact of chemical use. Both scientific enthusiasm and frustration have arisen from nearly two decades of use of pest-resistant genetically modified crops. The chapter uses the case of trade tensions between Europe and the United States to illustrate the conflicts between the new technology and incumbent agricultural systems. Unlike other cases in this book, the controversy over transgenic crops occurred in the context of a globalizing trading system and took on international dimensions from the outset. Therefore, governments sought to resolve their difference through diplomatic negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations.