> I am putting together a brochure for our regional sustainable ag.
> group. (SAFE - Sustainable Agriculture for Everyone). I need a
> definition of sustainable agriculture that the average person can
> understand that isn't too long.
Here's the one we use in our CIAS publication "The Power Eater's
Guide to Organic and Sustainable Food":
"Sustainable agriculture includes any agricultural practice that
strives to support the environmental, social, economic, or
intergenerational viability of farming, farm communities, and the
food system."
This is in a little list of definitions, and it's followed by
"The food system is the entire system of production, processing,
marketing, transportation, packaging, preparation, consuming, waste
management, and other activities around food."
Yeah, Greg, various folks with Ph.D.s have pointed out that somebody
could argue with these definitions till Tinky Winky marries Jerry
Falwell with Barney officiating...but pish and piddle. The point is
to help people think about sustainable ag. Not to make them feel like
they can't think about it without getting into a major argument. In
our not so humble opinion.
I also like to remind people that the word "sustainable" comes from
the Latin /sub-/ + /tenere/, meaning to support or to hold up from
below.
Or as the Earth First!ers say: We stand for what we stand on.
peace
misha
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
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