permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [SANET-MG] Gee - I guess it all depends on how one defines 
'sustainable'.........
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:47:11 -0400
From: Laura Lengnick <lengnick@WARREN-WILSON.EDU>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

Hi all - Congress defined sustainable agriculture in the 1990 FACTA.  As 
a technical consultant, college-level sustainable ag. teacher, public
policy analyst, sustainable management researcher and sustainable
farmer, I have found this definition to be clear, complete and very
useful in application.  Here it is....

“the term sustainable agriculture means 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
   * enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”

 http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/agnic/susag.shtml


Carried out with intellectual integrity, it is pretty easy to develop
indicators or criteria from this definition with which to test the
sustainability implications of a decision regarding employing a practice 
or taking a specific management approach.  Judging from past experience, 
GMO technologies typically fail bullets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.  In addition, 
GMO technologies are rarely employed as part of an integrated system and 
do not have site specific application.

Best regards,

Laura

Jeff Schahczenski wrote:
> All,
>
> Check this out..... and tell me what sustainability is?
>
> http://www.grist.org/article/How-the-agrichemical-industry-turns-failure-into-market-opportunity/