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Clearly, the debate is no longer over agricultural sustainability as a legitimate goal, but about how to fulfill that goal. Research is a vital factor contributing to the creation of a sustainable agriculture. Entrenched ideas about the way agricultural research is conducted have been challenged by farmers, environmentalists, food-safety advocates, rural activists, and others. ø William Lockeretz and Molly D. Anderson meet these challenges and chart a reasoned course through the fray. They analyze the potential and the limits of various research approaches associated with alternative agriculture: multidisciplinary research, application of ecological principles in understanding agricultural systems, emphasis on the use of agricultural information, use of working farms as research sites, and the involvement of farmers in agricultural research. They also propose reforms in institutional aspects of agricultural research?the organization of academic departments, evaluation of professional achievement, functioning of grant programs, and the education of agricultural researchers.
Ethical and value issues; The global setting: resource, environmental, and socio-economic trends; The national setting: past and present goals and priorities; Assessing neglected dimensions; Evaluative concepts in agricultural research; Emerging alternatives and their implications; Where do we go from here?.
More and more farmers are adopting a diverse range of alternative practices designed to reduce dependence on synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and antibiotics; cut costs; increase profits; and reduce the adverse environmental consequences of agricultural production. Alternative Agriculture describes the increased use of these new practices and other changes in agriculture since World War II, and examines the role of federal policy in encouraging this evolution, as well as factors that are causing farmers to look for profitable, environmentally safe alternatives. Eleven case studies explore how alternative farming methods have been adoptedâ€"and with what economic resultsâ€"on farms of various sizes from California to Pennsylvania.

Appropriate Technology

United States. Congress. House. Committee on Science and Technology. Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agriculture Research, and Environment

Published: 1983

Total Pages: 106


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The OTA (Office of Technology Assessment) reports that the Federal Government has failed to adjust the emphasis of its human nutrition research activities to deal with changing U.S. health problems. Three key issues in changing policy are: 1) maintain the status quo; 2) make small alterations in the system; or 3) change the emphasis of federally fundednutrition research based on OTA, General Accounting Office (GAO) or Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recommendations for strategies and options. Each strategy details research priorities, definition and funding, personnel requirements and proposed research organization. More information is needed on Federal expenditures and available personnel. Provision must be made for public nutrition education and food programs that emphasize the application of existing knowledge.