Fundamental fallacies of building agricultural sustainability

Excerpt

IN the late 18th century, Edmund Burke wrote in Reflections on the Revolution in France, “The most wonderful things are brought about, in many instances, by means, the most absurd and ridiculous.”

Current, widespread interest in sustainable agriculture would indicate that Burke may have been right. Who would have believed that a handful of ridiculous and absurd farmers, acting contrary to conventional wisdom by raising crops without chemical inputs and introducing diverse cropping systems that reduce their government payments, would start a revolution in agriculture?

An Agricultural crossroads

Today, we stand on the threshold of two potential revolutions in agriculture. Either, or both, could determine the shape of mainline agriculture in the decades ahead. One, started by a small group of tenacious farmers, is variously described as “alternative” agriculture, “biological” agriculture, “eco-agriculture,” or “agroecology.” This type of agriculture was recognized in the National Academy of Science's study, Alternative Agriculture, as having great …