“A local food system is not sustainable without a commitment to sustainable agriculture… Local, organic food is the best long-term option and will be critical to develop due to the decline of chemical pesticides and fertilizers from peak oil and peak natural gas.” —Megan Quinn Bachman, The Community Solution
(photo by Abbodanza Organic Seeds & Produce)
To be sustaining and sustainable, agriculture must make the transition from an oil-based industrial model to a more labor-intensive, knowledge-intensive, localized, organic model. This means a radical reduction of fossil fuel inputs, accompanied by an increase in labor inputs and a reduction of transport, with production being devoted primarily to local consumption.
What would an agriculture without fossil fuels look like? How could we get there?
- Shift to organic farming (permaculture, biointensive, biodynamic, ecological, natural)
- Reduce or eliminate fossil fuel inputs (fertilizers, pesticides)
- Reduce or eliminate tillage
- Reduce or eliminate reliance on mechanized farm equipment, increase human labor
- Rebuild soil, reverse soil and land degradation
- Keep carbon in soil, grasslands, and forests
- Dramatically reduce “food miles”
- Increase local consumption
- Reduce meat consumption, especially red meat
- Heal land and community
- Rebuild community relationships
Conventional agriculture relies on massive application of pesticides, fertilizers, and fossil fuels. It tends to be very large-scale, use large quantities of water, and depends on a handful of highly competitive crops. It results in significant levels of soil erosion, as well as the contamination of groundwater and ecosystems.
Sustainable Agriculture eliminates the use of pesticides and hormones and largely maintains soil fertility by application of on-farm residues and rotation of nitrogen-fixing crops. Any external fertilizers must themselves be sustainably produced. It minimizes soil erosion through crop choices, cover-cropping, and low-till methods. It emphasizes crop diversity — both of species and varieties — which provides inherent resilience in the face of pests, disease, and weather extremes.
Sustainable Agriculture is extremely Resource Efficient, and avoids any water withdrawals which impair habitat. It provides buffers of native vegetation along streams to maintain favorable water temperatures and water quality. Sustainable Agriculture also requires that plant and animal wastes be carefully contained and treated to avoid any contaminated run-off.
Sustainable Agriculture is a compatible land-use in Buffer Zones. Farms and ranches in these areas should be managed with special attention to maintaining habitat connectivity and quality. For instance, in some areas, ranchers are accepting full compensation for livestock losses rather than opposing wolf reintroduction efforts.
Sustainable Agriculture can be profitable on an extremely small scale, and backyard gardens and small urban farms contribute greatly to the self-sufficiency and character of Human-Scale Neighborhoods. While Sustainable Agriculture can be practiced at the scale of thousands of acres, on the whole it tends rebuild Local Assets. Its reliance on local labor rather than expensive imports (seeds, pesticides, fertilizer, fuel) greatly contributes to Local Economies and Productive Rural Areas. Sustainable Agriculture emphasizes the health and safety of farm workers, providing a living wage and contributing to Social Equity. Farmer’s markets, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) arrangements, and relationships with restaurants and stores help to establish Rural-Urban Linkages.
Most, but not all, aspects of Sustainable Agriculture are addressed by organic certification standards like those administered state-wide by California Tilth and Oregon Tilth and nationally by the U.S.D.A. This form of Product Labeling is well-accepted in the marketplace, and can attract a price premium of 50% or more. The organic food market is the fastest growing sector of the food industry, with a growth rate of 20% per year over the last two decades. Processors, handlers, marketers, and restaurants can also receive organic certification, creating a wide range of opportunities for Value-Added Production in Sustainable Agriculture.
Farms and gardens should maintain their own soil fertility, avoid pesticide use, and prevent erosion. They should be planted in a wide variety of crops, and maintain their genetic diversity over time. They should use water efficiently, maintain the health of nearby riparian zones, and provide as much wildlife habitat as possible.
[Adapted from ConservationEconomy.net]
