Sustainable Agriculture Articles

The Difference between 'Organic' and 'Sustainable'

How does sustainable agriculture relate to vegetarian diet? Simply put, agriculture which raises grain and vegetable crops to directly feed humans uses far less land and water, with less erosion and pollution, so is easier to sustain. Agriculture which is geared toward large-scale consumption of animal products uses far more land and water, and is very damaging to the environment in many ways, so is difficult to sustain.

What about organic? Sustainable agriculture includes organic farming, but has broader implications, while 'organic' doesn't necessarily mean sustainable. Organic farming can be (and is) practised without regard to the broader context of sustainability. On the other hand, the term 'organic' includes processed food and consumer products, as much as agriculture.

Wikipedia's Sustainable Agriculture Definition

"Sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to produce perpetually. Among other requirements, this means that any outside inputs employed for agriculture must be available indefinitely, so non-renewable resources are avoided. While air and sunlight are generally available in most geographic locations, crops also depend on soil nutrients and the availability of water.

When farmers grow and harvest crops, they remove some of these nutrients from the soil. Without replenishment, the land would suffer from nutrient depletion and be unusable for further farming. Sustainable agriculture depends on replenishing the soil without using non-renewable resources, such as oil and natural gas, or deforestation.

In some areas, sufficient rainfall is available for crop growth, but many other areas require irrigation. For irrigation systems to be sustainable they must be managed properly and not use more water from their source than is naturally replenished, otherwise the water source becomes, in effect, a non-renewable resource.

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