I work in a nutrition department that has begun to look at sustainability within our agricultural system. So what does it mean to be truly sustainable? I was curious too and happened to find the following article…enjoy!

Sustainable Agricultre

(Article source: Seed Magazine; Image source: Berkeley )

What does “sustainable agriculture” truly mean—and what should it look like? The outlines of this long-running debate will be familiar to many. One side argues that modern, industrialized farming, for all its flaws, has mostly been a force for good, vastly improving yield, reducing food-borne illness, and saving the world from Malthusian disaster.  Building upon this foundation, modern farming should be science-based and highly capitalized, employing the arsenal of innovations in chemistry, biotechnology, and satellite systems—from biotech seeds to laser-leveled fields. The other side rebuts that given the enormous environmental and social costs of intensified agriculture, a paradigm shift is needed: one that takes a whole-systems approach based on traditional knowledge, alternative agriculture, and local food system experience.

Original New York Times Article

(source: NY Times)

For any industry, there has to be at least some good news any time Congress votes to expand the market by tens of millions of customers. But the business world found plenty to complain about Sunday, as it assessed the House bill that would make sweeping changes in the health care system and extend insurance coverage to millions more Americans.