A Portal on Sustainability

Agriculture, food production and biotechnology

04.05.2005 · Research Group on the Global Future

After a period of food production that outstripped population growth by a wide margin, we are facing an era of slowing grain growth. Today, one person out of eight cannot afford enough food to lead a productive working life, according to the World Bank. A sustainable agriculture is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and humane. These four goals for sustainability can be applied to all aspects of any agricultural system, from production and marketing to processing and consumption. Rather than dictating what methods can and can not be used, they establish basic standards by which widely divergent agricultural practices and conditions can be evaluated and modified, if necessary to create sustainable systems. The result is an agriculture designed to last and be passed on to future generations.
With the help of biotechnology, new agricultural technologies offer - if used in a responsible way - a way to enhance agricultural productivity today and in the future. However, not only biotechnological methods could built for sustainable food supply.

Organic farming reduces or eliminates water pollution and helps conserve water and soil on the farm.

Check out Our Planet's issue on food and see what else can be done to build a sustainable future in concerns of food. The magazine contains information on sustainable agriculture and food production, the use of pesticides, the World Food Summit, fishing and other topics.

The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, based in Oklahoma, USA, joins the search for farming practices and marketing structures that will improve the quality of our natural resources, our natural environment, and the lives of farmers and ranchers and the communities to which they belong. It consults and gives grants to Oklahoman farmers, contributing to a "sustainable community".

The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is a permanent inter-governmental forum established by the FAO to discuss issues of genetic engineering relevant to global agriculture and food production. It aims to reach an international consensus on the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their utilization, for present and future generations.

An International Conference on Biotechnology in Global Economy, held at Harvard University, aimed to broaden the debate on biotechnology beyond the narrow confines of the biosafety question and foster dialogue between researchers, entrepreneurs, political leaders, policy makers and practitioners. The website offers extensive information about the conference, including real audio coverage of speeches and keynote addresses on topics ranging from "Evolution of the biotechnology industry" to "Biotechnology and human health", and "Ethics, social values and biotechnology."