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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] The Importance of Sustainable Farmers
  • Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:13:15 -0700


The Importance of Sustainable Farmers
http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/solutions/sustainable_farming/the-importance-of-sustainable.html
Union of Concerned Scientists

Where will the methods and practices of sustainable agriculture come from?
Despite the decades of work in the courts, the media, and on the Hill, the
environmental community has had disappointingly little impact on pesticide
and fertilizer use in this country. The sad truth is that the 30 years
following Rachel Carson's Silent Spring were characterized by dramatic
increases—not decreases—in pesticide use.

The reason is simple. The environmental message "Don't use pesticides" was
negative and ran counter to what most farmers believed was their economic
survival. Because no alternatives to pesticides appeared economically viable,
most farmers believed their choice was to use chemicals or go out of
business. Little wonder that despite lawsuits, a federal pesticide law, and
growing public concern, pesticide and fertilizer use stubbornly increased.

Now things are beginning to change. Pesticide use is slowly diminishing and
it is becoming clear that new approaches to agriculture offer the possibility
of huge reductions in chemical use. The importance of the environmental
benefits of lower pesticide use—clean water, thriving populations of fish and
birds, fewer industrial and transportation accidents—is hard to overstate.
And these are in addition to the non-pesticide-related benefits of
sustainable practices like soil conservation, soil health, and increased
wildlife habitat.

While many factors have contributed to this turn of events, a pivotal factor
has been the emergence of a group within the agricultural community
who—rather than just decrying pesticides—developed and proved nonchemical
practices of growing crops that made economic sense to farmers.

The signal feature of these practices is that they are both environmentally
sound and economically viable. Their importance cannot be overestimated. If
offered such alternatives, many farmers will turn away from chemicals rapidly
and voluntarily. No regulation. No bureaucracy. No coercion. Without such
alternatives, farmers will be pitted against environmentalists and neither
group is likely to win.

We need many more of these innovative, sustainable practices. Where are they
going to come from? In general, from where they originated: the sustainable
agriculture community. While university research, better commodity programs,
and other institutional measure are vital to underpin these efforts, the key
to the transformation to an environmentally conscious agriculture is
environmentally conscious farmers.






  • [Livingontheland] The Importance of Sustainable Farmers, Tradingpost, 11/21/2009

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