![]() It also allows the soil to hold more carbon and other nutrients-compounds that would otherwise enter the air as greenhouse gas emissions. ![]() Reducing erosion and building microbial communities in the soil allows the soil to support crops better, requiring fewer inputs such as fertilizers. This will protect it from erosion due to severe rains or winds, keeping the living root in the ground to continue building the microbial communities and other life-forms that improve soil function. Most of these regenerative agriculture practices aim to build up soil health by keeping the soil covered year-round. Regenerative agriculture practices include the use of cover crops (crops that are grown in the off-season and are used to replenish soil health), reduction in soil disturbance (known as tillage), building a communal ecosystem with both crops and livestock, and the reduction or omission of synthetic fertilizers and other inputs. Let's briefly look at regenerative agriculture practices and the practical implications of requiring farmers to adopt those practices. Unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than it sounds. Naeem, Lipton, and van Huysen provide a big picture view for students of sustainability and other readers interested in the environment, natural resources, agriculture, and human impacts.If everyone agrees on what needs to be done to produce more food and how to do it sustainably for the planet, then what is the issue? Why don't we have these practices in place across the globe? What should industry leaders do to encourage the adoption of these practices? Schmitz, Oastler Professor of Ecology, Yale University School of the Environment Sustainable Food Production brings a broad subject area with many terms and concepts into a coherent framework. Broadly sweeping in scope, from historical context to forward thinking, it offers an indispensable overview of how to draw together social, ecological, and economic principles to enhance the sustainability of food, farming, and agriculture. Written in a highly engaging style, this short book does an incredible job of explaining how to address this challenge. One of today’s greatest environmental challenges is to feed a hungry planet without jeopardizing the sustainability of our food production systems or the Earth’s ecosystems and biodiversity. Louise Jackson, professor emerita, University of California Davis It could serve as an excellent add-on textbook for courses in sustainability science, agricultural policy, and agricultural ecology. Timely and succinct, it is a useful resource for understanding interdisciplinary issues in development and for shifting toward more equitable and environmentally sound food systems. Appropriate for a range of courses in the natural and social sciences, it provides a comprehensive yet accessible framework for achieving agricultural sustainability in the Anthropocene.Ī little book with a big scope, this primer focuses on the social and ecological context for how agriculture fits into the global agenda for environmental sustainability. Sustainable Food Production is a compelling guide to how we can improve our ability to feed each other today and preserve the ability of our planet to do so tomorrow. They emphasize the importance of human well-being and insist on the centrality of social and environmental equity and justice. The authors explain the principles of environmental sustainability and explore how these principles can be put into practice in agrifood systems. Beginning with a discussion of the role of agriculture in human development, the primer examines how twentieth-century farming methods are environmentally and socially unsustainable, contributing to global change and perpetuating inequalities. It details the ecological foundations of farming and food systems, showing how knowledge from the natural and social sciences can be used to create sustainable alternatives to the industrial production methods used today. This concise text offers an overview of the key issues in sustainable food production for all readers interested in the ecology and environmental impacts of agriculture. With a projected global population of 10 billion by 2050, it is urgent for humanity to achieve a more sustainable approach to farming and food systems. Industrial agriculture is responsible for widespread environmental degradation and undermines the pursuit of human well-being.
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