Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture

With the decline of family farms and rural communities and the rise of corporate farming and the resulting environmental degradation, American agriculture is in crisis. But this crisis offers the opportunity to rethink agriculture in sustainable terms. Here one of the most eloquent and influential proponents of sustainable agriculture explains what this means. These engaging essays describe what sustainable agriculture is, why it began, and how it can succeed. Together they constitute a clear and compelling vision for rebalancing the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.

In Crisis and Opportunity, John E. Ikerd outlines the consequences of agricultural industrialization, then details the methods that can restore economic viability, ecological soundness, and social responsibility to our agricultural system and thus ensure sustainable agriculture as the foundation of a sustainable food system and a sustainable society.

John E. Ikerd is professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri. He is the author of Sustainable Capitalism, A Return to Common Sense, and Small Farms are Real Farms.

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Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture

With the decline of family farms and rural communities and the rise of corporate farming and the resulting environmental degradation, American agriculture is in crisis. But this crisis offers the opportunity to rethink agriculture in sustainable terms. Here one of the most eloquent and influential proponents of sustainable agriculture explains what this means. These engaging essays describe what sustainable agriculture is, why it began, and how it can succeed. Together they constitute a clear and compelling vision for rebalancing the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.

In Crisis and Opportunity, John E. Ikerd outlines the consequences of agricultural industrialization, then details the methods that can restore economic viability, ecological soundness, and social responsibility to our agricultural system and thus ensure sustainable agriculture as the foundation of a sustainable food system and a sustainable society.

John E. Ikerd is professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri. He is the author of Sustainable Capitalism, A Return to Common Sense, and Small Farms are Real Farms.

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Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture

Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture

by John E. Ikerd
Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture

Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture

by John E. Ikerd

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Overview

With the decline of family farms and rural communities and the rise of corporate farming and the resulting environmental degradation, American agriculture is in crisis. But this crisis offers the opportunity to rethink agriculture in sustainable terms. Here one of the most eloquent and influential proponents of sustainable agriculture explains what this means. These engaging essays describe what sustainable agriculture is, why it began, and how it can succeed. Together they constitute a clear and compelling vision for rebalancing the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.

In Crisis and Opportunity, John E. Ikerd outlines the consequences of agricultural industrialization, then details the methods that can restore economic viability, ecological soundness, and social responsibility to our agricultural system and thus ensure sustainable agriculture as the foundation of a sustainable food system and a sustainable society.

John E. Ikerd is professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri. He is the author of Sustainable Capitalism, A Return to Common Sense, and Small Farms are Real Farms.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780803211421
Publisher: Bison Original
Publication date: 05/01/2008
Series: Our Sustainable Future
Pages: 342
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author


John E. Ikerd is professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri. He is the author of Sustainable Capitalism, A Return to Common Sense, and Small Farms are Real Farms.

Table of Contents


Foreword
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Crisis and Opportunity in American Agriculture
 
Section I - The Industrialization of American Agriculture
Chapter 2. The Industrialization of Agriculture: Why We Should Stop Promoting It
Chapter 3. Corporate Agriculture and Family Farms
Chapter 4. The Corporatization of America
 
Section II - New Hope for the Future of Farming
Chapter 5. New Hope for the Future of Farming: Rediscovering Agriculture
Chapter 6. Farming in Harmony with Nature and Society
Chapter 7. Reclaiming the Sacred in Food and Farming
 
Section III - Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Chapter 8. Sustainable Agriculture: Do We Really Need to Define It?
Chapter 9. Foundational Principles: Soils, Stewardship, and Sustainability
Chapter 10. Economics of Sustainable Farming
Chapter 11. The Renaissance of Rural America
 
Section IV - The New American Farmer
Chapter 12. Walking the Talk of Sustainable Agriculture
Chapter 13. Survival Strategies for Small Farms
Chapter 14. Marketing in the Niches: The Key to Sustainable Farming
Chapter 15. Local Organics Saves Farmland and Communities
Chapter 16. Farming in the Future: The Triple Bottom Line
 
Section V - Creating Sustainable Food and Farming Systems
Chapter 17. The Real Costs of Globalization
Chapter 18. Redirecting Government Policies for Agricultural Sustainability
Chapter 19. The New American Food System
Chapter 20. American Agriculture, after Fossil Energy
 
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