| Dear Sustainability Watch Reader,
I am pleased to provide you with your weekly Sustainability Watch newsletter. This week's topic is "Sustainable Agriculture."
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Sustainable Agriculture
A new study out of the University of California estimates that 250,000 people from Fresno to Bakersfield, California are at risk of contaminated drinking water. The study, funded by the state, has determined that 96% of the contaminates are nitrates resulting from overuse of agricultural fertilizers and farm waste. While residents in the area have been drinking bottled water for quite sometime, farmers and farm associations are not as accepting of the study's results; fearing for associated cleanup costs and negative impacts on business.
Regardless, scientists are working on potential solutions to the problem, including better regulation of fertilizer and waste management. Additionally, it has been suggested that a "pump-and-fertilize" method be used to deal with the contaminated water. In this scenario, the contaminated water would be harvested and applied to crops that could benefit from the excess fertilizer and nutrients. In comparison to the alternative (harvesting the water and cleaning it), which would cost as much as $30 billion, the pump-and-fertilize method would cost $1 million per year.
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 Executive Summary
Agricultural practices have changed dramatically over the past fifty years. Generally, the trend has been to consolidate small farms held by families into large farms held by corporations. With the industrialization of our farm land, there has been a push to maximize yield through the addition of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides manufactured by a handful of corporations.
It is argued that current farming practices are contributing to climate change, inefficient and too reliant upon monoculture and GMOs. Additionally, industrial agriculture has made it difficult for small farmers and developing nations to produce enough foodstuffs for survival. For these reasons, scientists and policymakers are growing increasingly concerned about widespread hunger. Sustainable farming is being recognized as a solution.
Sustainable farming practices include soil and water conservation, minimizing chemical inputs such as herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, and avoiding GMOs. The US Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service states that "the goals of sustainable agriculture are to provide a more profitable farm income, to promote environmental stewardship, and to enhance the quality of life for farm families and their communities" (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service [CSREES], 2009).
Interest in sustainable agriculture is gaining momentum. Agriculture schools are developing sustainable agriculture programs and many consumers are becoming increasingly savvy; they want to know the source of their food and how it was produced. Many Americans are now supporting local agriculture either by joining a CSA, attending a farmer's market or getting their hands dirty in their own gardens. Sustainable agriculture does not, however, necessarily mean organic. Many organic practices are sustainable, but not all organic farms are sustainable (i.e. monocrops of organic spinach).
Despite evidence that the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is important, the path toward a sustainable food system is not clear. Competition for farm land comes from bio fuels, populations are accustomed to relatively cheap food prices and giants in the agribusiness are telling us GMOs will feed the world.
Several organizations have been created and international attention is being focused on proliferating sustainable agriculture. In the United States, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has created a $3 billion Feed the Future Initiative dedicated to improving sustainable market opportunities and linkages with smallholder farmers throughout the world. Additionally, the UN has called upon governments to invest $2 trillion to help small-scale farming. The World Economic Forum is also involved, with its "Realizing a New Vision for Agriculture initiative which facilitiates private sector investment in small sustainable farm practices.
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