Here are some key metrics that can be used to measure modern best practices in sustainable agriculture:
- Environmental impact metrics: Amount of synthetic pesticides/fertilizers used, soil health/quality, water usage and quality, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.
- Public health metrics: Presence of toxic residues on food, antibiotic/hormone use in livestock, air and water pollution levels near farms, health and safety of farmworkers, etc.
- Economic metrics: Farm profitability and viability, percentage of income spent on external inputs, job creation, contribution to local economy, resilience to market fluctuations, etc.
- Social metrics: Access to healthy/affordable food, community engagement/support
Presentation for the Stakeholders Consultation Workshop on "Cambodia Agriculture in Transition: Opportunities and Risks"; given on September 18, 2013 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Presentation by Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at International Trade Centre (ITC) and Indian Pulses and Grains Council (IPGA) on 24 August 2016.
Presentation for the Stakeholders Consultation Workshop on "Cambodia Agriculture in Transition: Opportunities and Risks"; given on September 18, 2013 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Presentation by Dr David Bergvinson, Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at International Trade Centre (ITC) and Indian Pulses and Grains Council (IPGA) on 24 August 2016.
India is the largest producer of Mango in the world. It produces mangoes of different sizes & shapes. It is fruit which has a large export potential in the International Market.
This Presentation tends to look after the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) & certifications associated with the export if mango.
while the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) is regarding Mango Pulp which is a byproduct of Mango and having a huge demand in the international market.
Organic Crop Production through Contract Farming In Indiaiosrjce
In recent years consumers’ concerns regarding food safety have led to an increase in demand for org
anic products. The Global market for organic products has been growing steadily not only in Europe and North
America but in Asian countries such as Japan and it is estimated that it will continue to be fastest growing secto
r in agriculture. Not surprisingly organic food production has increased all over the globe with much of the incr
ease occurring in the developing countries where farmers are being attracted by export benefits and substantial
price premiums. In India efforts are being made for organic crop production through contract farming. Experie
nces have shown that farmers are benefited from technical guidance, supply of quality farm inputs and assured
purchases at remunerative price. Organic farming through contract basis would bring about favorable changes
in the present conventional agriculture to make it sustainable and commercial and consumers would also get ce
rtified organic products at reasonable price. This paper will highlight the present situation and future strategies
of organic crop production through contract farming in India.
Current Status and Long-Term Investments in Agricultural Biotechnology for Su...apaari
Current Status and Long-Term Investments in Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific by Rhodora Aldemita, ISAAA, Philippines
Africa RISING in Ethiopia organized a farmer’s field day event on 24 December 2020, in Bale, Oromia Region. The field day aimed to create awareness, measure the progress and get feedback on the ongoing food and forage crops technologies. Animal feed seed multiplication on farmers training centers as well as wheat clustered seed multiplication on seed producer's cooperative were included on the visit.
India is the largest producer of Mango in the world. It produces mangoes of different sizes & shapes. It is fruit which has a large export potential in the International Market.
This Presentation tends to look after the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) & certifications associated with the export if mango.
while the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) is regarding Mango Pulp which is a byproduct of Mango and having a huge demand in the international market.
Organic Crop Production through Contract Farming In Indiaiosrjce
In recent years consumers’ concerns regarding food safety have led to an increase in demand for org
anic products. The Global market for organic products has been growing steadily not only in Europe and North
America but in Asian countries such as Japan and it is estimated that it will continue to be fastest growing secto
r in agriculture. Not surprisingly organic food production has increased all over the globe with much of the incr
ease occurring in the developing countries where farmers are being attracted by export benefits and substantial
price premiums. In India efforts are being made for organic crop production through contract farming. Experie
nces have shown that farmers are benefited from technical guidance, supply of quality farm inputs and assured
purchases at remunerative price. Organic farming through contract basis would bring about favorable changes
in the present conventional agriculture to make it sustainable and commercial and consumers would also get ce
rtified organic products at reasonable price. This paper will highlight the present situation and future strategies
of organic crop production through contract farming in India.
Current Status and Long-Term Investments in Agricultural Biotechnology for Su...apaari
Current Status and Long-Term Investments in Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific by Rhodora Aldemita, ISAAA, Philippines
Africa RISING in Ethiopia organized a farmer’s field day event on 24 December 2020, in Bale, Oromia Region. The field day aimed to create awareness, measure the progress and get feedback on the ongoing food and forage crops technologies. Animal feed seed multiplication on farmers training centers as well as wheat clustered seed multiplication on seed producer's cooperative were included on the visit.
Linking Farmers and Businesses in Integrated Organic Rice and Shrimp Farming ...BRNSS Publication Hub
Introduction: The model of shrimp-rice rotation in coastal provinces in Mekong Delta (MD),
Vietnam, is a special farming system and has become the cultivation practices for decades.
Material and Method: This paper taking integrated organic rice and shrimp farming and value change
linkage between farmers and companies into consideration for research and development and suggesting
suitable solutions in organic agriculture (OA) development. Result: Organic rice production increased
profit from 6 to 10 million VND per ha compared to conventional inorganic rice production. Organic
products will maintain stable market credibility in the country as well as export, creating mutual benefit
for both farmers and business in the value chain linkage. Conclusion: OA is also contributed to protecting
the public health and preserving the environment in a clean and sustainable way.
Pulses R & D in India by Dr. S K Datta, Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Presentation at The Pulses Conclave 2014 by India Pulse & Grains Association, IPGA
Economic Implications of Plant-made Pharmaceutical Production in North CarolinaRAFI-USA
Christopher F. Dumas, Troy G. Schmitz, Christopher R. Giese, Michael Sligh.
Published 2008.
Report features recommendations to help shape a full and meaningful dialogue regarding the future of pharmaceutical crops in North Carolina agriculture. Christopher F. Dumas; Troy G. Schmitz; Christopher R. Giese; Michael Sligh.
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
2. Food & Agriculture : Rising Demand & Problems In Supply
Key Take Away Key Take Away
• Global Middle Class will grow by 3bn people by the next 20 year
• Rising Income in India will drive Food Consumption
• Inflation in agriculture commodities serve as inflation hedge
• World Population projected to reach 9bn by 2050.Gobal Food
production need to be increased by as much as 70%
• USA, Indian & China alone comprise of >40 % of the global
population and arable land is decreasing in all 3 countries
The problems persist as the supply side is not able to match the increasing rate of demand by
the Indian population.
3. Agricultural Productivity : Factors
• Population & Income growth
• Increasing exports
• Favourable demographics
• Growing Institutional Credit
• Increasing MSPs
• Introduction of new Schemes
• Genetically modified seeds
• Irrigational facilities
• Green Revolution in India
Productivity
Demand Side Factors Supply Side Factors Policy Factors
Size of India’s seed industry was about USD1.6 billion
(estimate) in FY10
Strong growth in the use of hybrid seeds due to their
high yield and resistance
In FY12, production of certified seeds increased to
2.84 million tonnes from 1.27 million tonnes in FY07
Usage of hybrid seeds has boosted the yield of food
grains to 2,059 kg/ hectare in FY12 from 1,023 kg/
hectare in FY81
4. Our Country India
Requires a Clear Strategy
to improve Agriculture….
Agricultural
Biotechnology
Strategy for Sowing Prosperity:
Boosting agricultural productivity
Genetic Modification in Specific
Crop characteristics
5. Proposed Model for Agricultural Productivity and its Impacts
Multi-enterprise Agriculture Model
6. Screening/ enhancing current
high-throughput methods to
distinguish between varieties
Methodology to assist
industry and government
regulators in regulatory
requirements
Designing tools to assess the
environmental impact of GM
crops
Methods for assessing
changes to plant composition
and metabolism that occur
due to genetic modification
GM crop reference materials
and standards for validation
purposes at accredited
laboratories
Designing faster and cost-
effective methods for specific
and sensitive detection of one
or multiple GM crops
Reliable methods for
quantification of crops with
single or multiple gene
inserts
Plan -The Pre implementation Phase
Fault tree/
Event Tree
IAU,IARI,
ICGEB etc
IBSC,RCGM
,GEAC etc
7. Four sub units : one each
for vegetables, fruits,
cereals and Edible oils
At least 3 trans-generic
Research Centers
supporting each sub unit
Check and Act- Correct & Monitor
Tracking methodologies that
could be incorporated into
the plant (e.g. a plant DNA ID
tag)
Regular updating of
Regulations and pre planning
strategy from the outcome of
monitoring
Monitoring for each sub
unit must be done under
the surveillance of 3 Trans-
Generic Research Centers
Efficiently draw upon, and
contribute to, plant
genomic, proteomic, and
metabolomic databases
CTRI,CSMB
etc.
Do- Implement the Plan
8. Challenges- Handling the Myths
Challenges- Implementation difficulties
• Superbugs or weeds
• Uncertainty in future
• Damage to Biodiversity
• Kill certain organisms
• Corporate control
• Terms of trade
• High Cost
• Limited Choice
Social Political
Agricu
ltural
Environ
mental
Properly identifying the
stakeholders and
Strengthening them through
consultation System
Risk assessment procedures
are still in a stage of
development
Segregation and testing to
ensure compliance is a great
challenge under Indian
conditions
Labelling of packaged
genetically modified food in
absence of proper
quantification techniques
Monitoring to compensate
for deficiencies that will only
be rectified through longer
term
9. Mitigation- Ways to counter challenges
The GEAC to be revamped. Its
members to include a range
of scientists from diverse
fields, NGOs, Civil Society etc
that touch upon agriculture,
environment and ecosystems
Long-term vision document,
to be discussed in a public
forum including all
stakeholders, before any
steps are taken on GM crops.
Long-term environmental
and ecological studies on the
impact of GM crops both on
agro ecosystems and natural
ecosystems
The Regulatory system
should have definite and
unambiguous penalty
provisions to be applied in
the case of violations
Standardised framework for
the monitoring of GM crops
and for risk assessment.
Independent scientific
experts not working on GM
crops must monitor field
trials of GM crops
Put on hold the release of
GM crops until its regulatory
procedure is demonstrably
more competent and
transparent
Clear cut policy on the
protection of Centres of
Origin and Diversity
Public discussion on the risks
and benefits of the proposed
crop and the traits that are to
be deployed
Data obtained from field
trials of GM crops must be
made available to the public
10. Increased Crop
Productivity
Enhanced crop
protection
Improvements
in food
processing
Improved
nutritional
value
Better flavour
Fresher
produce
Environmental
benefits
Criteria to measure impact of solution
Appropriate Monitoring Mechanism
National Biotech
Development
Strategy
Department of
Biotechnology
Ministry of
Environment and
forest
Ministry of
Agriculture
Ministry of Health
and Welfare
National Biotech
Regulatory
Authority
Biotechnology
Industry Research
Assistance Council
11. Scalability of the solution
Plant Biotechnology Trade and Protection
Field testing of Biotech Crops
Seed Policy
Seed
Pricing/Technology Fee
Regulatory Framework
Food Policy
Food labelling
Cartagena Protocol
and international
agreements
Trade Policy Marketing Issues
Linking
agriculture,growth
and nutrition
Sustainability of the solution
31. Model is
for 2.0
hectare
land with
the
following
enterprises
Agriculture crop production on 0.8 ha area
Dairy farming on 0.4 ha area for raising fodder, keeping 4 buffaloes and their followers and
gobar gas plan
Horticulture for raising fruit trees and vegetables on an area of 0.2ha
Vegetables on 0.2 ha
Floriculture on 0.2 ha
Fish farming, bee keeping, and mushroom on an area of 0.2 ha
Results
So Far
Net profit from Rice-wheat rotation was Rs. 39,400 per ha with B:C ratio of 1.70
Vegetable based crop rotations gave maximum profits. Net profit of Rs. 80,000 per ha was obtained with bottle gourd (ghia)-cauliflower rotation
with B:C ratio of 1.90
Forage based crop rotations like maize-maizeberseem and sorghum-berseem/oat provided net profit of Rs. 59,000 and Rs.40,000 per ha
respectively with B:C ratio of 2.98 and 2.91, respectively. The profitability from fodder production can be further improved with the introduction of
livestock.
The dung from 4 buffaloes is sufficient to produce gobar gas that can be used for cooking food for 7-8 family members. During a period of three
months, sale of milk fetched Rs. 35,000 i.e. daily income of about Rs. 400 only
Floriculture (gladiolus and marigold) seemed to be promising enterprise. However, benefits will be governed by processing and marketing facilities
Baby corn was also promising cash crop and becomes ready for sale within 60 days. After removing baby corn-cobs, the plant can be used as
palatable fodder. There is marketing problem in small towns like Karnal but is in great demand in big towns having bigger hotels and restaurants
Bee keeping proved a good enterprise as total revenue generated from honey production from 25 boxes was Rs.40,000, in six months period. This
enterprise can be blended with any other farming capsule
A profit of Rs. 15,000 was obtained in a year from the sale of fish raised in 0.2 ha fish pond. The dykes of fishpond were planted with fruit trees like
banana, guava, amla and karonda.
Vegetables like bottle gourd, bitter gourd, lady’s finger and palak etc were planted in the interspaces amongst fruit trees. Vegetables worth Rs 200-
300 were sold weekly. Seasonal flowers like gladiolus, marigold and chrysanthemum can also be raised
Gobar gas plant and solar heater are also being blended in the system
33. Sustainable Agriculture
In simplest terms, sustainable agriculture is the production of food, fiber, or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the
environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare. This form of agriculture enables us to produce healthful food without compromising
future generations' ability to do the same.
The primary benefits of sustainable agriculture are:
• Environmental Preservation
– Sustainable farms produce crops and raise animals without relying on toxic chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified seeds, G or practices that degrade
soil, water, or other natural resources. By growing a variety of plants and using techniques such as crop rotation, conservation tillage, and pasture-based livestock
husbandry G, sustainable farms protect biodiversity and foster the development and maintenance of healthy ecosystems.
• Protection of Public Health
– Food production should never come at the expense of human health. Since sustainable crop farms avoid hazardous pesticides, they're able to grow fruits and vegetables
that are safer for consumers, workers, and surrounding communities. Likewise, sustainable livestock farmers and ranchers raise animals without dangerous practices like
use of nontherapeutic antibiotics G or arsenic-based growth promoters. Through careful, responsible management of livestock waste, sustainable farmers also protect
humans from exposure to pathogens, toxins, and other hazardous pollutants.
• Sustaining Vibrant Communities
– A critical component of sustainable agriculture is its ability to remain economically viable, providing farmers, farmworkers, food processors, and others employed in the
food system with a livable wage and safe, fair working conditions. Sustainable farms also bolster local and regional economies, creating good jobs and building strong
communities.
• Upholding Animal Welfare
– Sustainable farmers and ranchers treat animals with care and respect, implementing livestock husbandry practices that protect animals' health and wellbeing. By raising
livestock on pasture, these farmers enable their animals to move freely, engage in instinctive behaviors, consume a natural diet, and avoid the stress and illness associated
with confinement.
Industrial Agriculture
Unfortunately, most food produced in the US is no longer grown or raised on sustainable farms. During the mid-1900s, US agriculture began to industrialize,
becoming increasingly mechanized and reliant upon resource-intensive inputs like synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Over time, farms became larger,
more specialized, and centralized, creating a process of extreme consolidation that drove many small farms out of business, and ultimately resulted in market
control by a handful of powerful corporations.
Although industrial agriculture now produces great quantities of food at low prices, it is able to do so only by implementing practices that threaten the
environment, human health, rural communities, and animal welfare.
• Industrial Crop Production
– Today, industrial crops are produced on huge monocrop Gfarms, which rely extensively on chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and genetically modified crop
varieties. These practices deplete and degrade soil, reduce biodiversity, G and generate air and water pollutants that degrade the environment and threaten the health of
farmworkers, neighbors, and consumers.
• Industrial Livestock Production
– The majority of meat, eggs, and dairy products are now produced on enormous industrial livestock facilities. Also known as factory farms or CAFOs (concentrated animal
feeding operations G), these facilities confine thousands (and, in some cases, hundreds of thousands) of animals in cramped conditions without access to the outdoors. In
addition to compromising animal welfare, factory farms generate a huge amount of waste, which pollutes air, water, and soil, degrading the natural environment and
threatening public health.
• A Sustainable Food Future
– Although industrial agriculture currently dominates the US food system, public awareness of the problems caused by this model has grown rapidly, building extensive
support for sustainable agriculture, creating a robust market for sustainable foods, and inspiring formidable demand for agricultural policy and regulatory reform.