Sustainable agriculture has a sound ecological and economical basis, is socially responsible, resource-friendly and serves as a basis for future generations." [P. Allen and others]

How Do I Act Sustainably? - Example: Sustainable Agriculture It is mainly the farmers of course who can do a great deal for sustainable agriculture. But we can also make a contribution as well.   by developing a preference for products that originate from sustainable agriculture;   by giving preference to regional products that have not been transported long distances;   by being attentive to our own "agriculture", for instance in our gardens,   By turning compostable waste into compost; by not using fertilizers or only ones free of chemicals; by not using pesticides (insecticides) or herbicides (chemicals for killing weeds); by giving preference to plants of local or regional origin in our gardens.

Model of Sustainable Agriculture

The following text names the four pillars of the sustainability model, so that we can derive an agripolitical model from it. Sustainable development is expressed by the fact that "1. renewable resources are only used at the rate at which they can be regenerated; 2. finite sources of raw materials should only be subjected to anthropogenic use, to the extent that, from a material but also functional point of view, they can be replaced by renewable carriers of resources and at the same time guarantee high productivity; 3. pollution of the environment does not exceed the naturally prescribed environmental capacity of the main world media of air, land and water or their break down capacity; 4. a temporary equivalence between the time point of entry or change on the one side and natural periods of time and process flows on the other should exist. This now very strong orientation to the ecological principle of the sustainability concept is, in terms of the history of development, conditioned by the fact that from the very beginning the sustainability concept was very strongly coupled to questions of ecological modernisation and an innovation-oriented environmental policy.

"Sustainable Agriculture... ... functions using methods and processes that maximise the productivity of the land and at the same time minimise the damaging effects to land, water, air and animal diversity and the health of farmers and consumers; ... places methods and procedures centre-stage that retain resources; ... has the aim of using as few non-renewable operating materials based on oil and discontinues their use in the long-run. they are to be replaced by renewable alternatives; ... uses methods and procedures that are adapted to the local conditions; ... includes farmers along with all their knowledge, skills and capabilities; is participatory." [Source: Published by "Deutscher Bundestag" (German Federal Parliament), Schlussbericht der Enquete-Kommission "Globalisierung der Weltwirtschaft" (Final Report of the Enquete Commission "Globalisation of the World Economy"), p. 338, Online Version]

However this set of circumstances should not draw away from the fact that economic and social functions have to be handled on equal terms. Because of this, these factors require specific rules to be observed with regard to inter and intragenerational distribution rights around material and immaterial resources. Ultimately, it is the economic component that requires increased attention, since, for sustainable development, it is of existential importance to integrate and regulate economic interests. The short-term gains largely realised today at the price of ecological degradation and social exploitation are no longer tolerable in an economic system that is obliged to sustainability.

The extrapolation of these fundamental principles onto agripolicy results in a sustainable agripolicy designed in such a way that it allows for agriculture which

1. in economic regard, is characterised by entrepreneurial activity, mostly exists without subvention, and, as such, is competitive. Those employed in the agricultural sector do not earn their income by growing healthy food, and the regionally-linked direct marketing and further processing of this, but in the sense of multifunctional agriculture, by also tapping into other sources of income in the tourism sector, by cultivating renewable raw materials or generating power from biomasses. Over and above this, further potential for income exists in the state honouring services for protecting the environment and caring for the land.

2. in the ecological dimension, deal with the resources land, air, and water in such a way that also remain protected from long-term negative influences. It concrete terms this means that fertilizers and pesticides are carefully and sparingly used, so that bordering uncultivated areas of land and water remain unaffected. Further to this, the method of working the land must uphold a richness in animal diversity and diverse cultural landscape, whereby the genetic potential of traditional cultural plant types and domestic animal breeds are recognised in their validity.

3. in the social sector guarantee secure jobs in the rural area (...);

4. in ethical issues with regard to protecting animals, guarantee that working animals are treated humanely, both in the way they are penned and fed, and are not tormented unnecessarily. 5. transforms consumer protection into a new political paradigm. The historical fordistic production system reached as a compromise with agriculture following the Second World War of guaranteeing the provision of a sufficient supply of foodstuffs against security of income in the urban areas of cities and for industry workers has served its time in this simple form. With the social change in structure, this comprise has now got into danger as well. The growing scepticism for the continued subvention of particular products, which takes place independent of their quality or the effect their manufacture has on third parties, goes hand-in-hand with the rise of new social milieus, which make other and qualitatively higher demands of foodstuffs.

Healthy, nutritious and, under the aspects of ecological and animal welfare, unobjectionable foodstuffs are being asked for. Consumer information requirements from authorities and firms making and selling foodstuffs help to convert a culture of mistrust into one of trust in addition to comprehensive labelling obligations. But also the voting consumer needs to honour a sustainable agrarian policy with their buying behaviour and break through the vicious circle of dominating price competition in retail trade."

[Source: Holger Meyer/Wilfried Gaum, "10 Jahre nach Rio - Wie nachhaltig ist die Agrarpolitik?" (10 Years after - How Sustainable is the Agrarian Policy); in: "Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte" 31-32/2002, p. 28-29, Online Version]


Biodynamic Cultivation

An ever-increasing number of people worldwide are cultivating their products "biodynamically" or "organically". What does this actually mean? Primarily, it means that they use techniques which do not fall back on the chemical and genetic substances and technologies of the agricultural industry, but are based on ecological knowledge. They can succeed in increasing yields as a result, hold pests in check and keep the land fertile, without the damaging "side-effects". An important role is played here by their avoiding large single-crop cultures, which came into existence as a result of colonialism.

"They cultivate a variety of field fruits according to the principle of fruit changeover so that insects attracted by one sort disappear when the next comes. They know that it is not clever to exterminate pests completely, because this would also eliminate their natural successors, which hold a healthy ecological system in balance. Instead of using artificial fertilizers, they cultivate their fields with liquid manure and plant remains, therefore returning organic material to the soil which then succeeds in getting back into the biological life-cycle."

[Source: Fritjof Capra, "Verborgene Zusammenhänge" (Hidden Correlations). "Vernetzt denken und handeln" (Networked thinking and action) in Wirtschaft, Politik, Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft (Econmony, Politics, Science and Society), Bern, amongst others 2002, p. 248]

Biodynamic cultivation is sustainable, because it exists in balance with ecological principles. He places the whole complex ecosystem, in which and from which he lives into account and integrates himself into the natural cycles. This holistic method of approach is a central component of each procedure aspiring to sustainability.

"Biofarmers know that fertile soil is living soil containing billions of living organisms in each cubic centimetre - a complex ecological system therefore, in which the substances important to life move in cycles from the plants to animals, fertilizers, soil bacteria and back to the plants. The sun's energy is of course the fuel that drives these ecological cycles."

[Source: Fritjof Capra, "Verborgene Zusammenhänge" (Hidden Correlations). "Vernetzt denken und handeln" (Networked thinking and action) in Wirtschaft, Politik, Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft (Economy, Politics, Science and Society), Bern, amongst others 2002, p. 248-249]

One frequent objection is that the rapidly growing world population's increasing need for foodstuffs cannot be met by sustainable production methods. This objection can be taken as having been countered according to the experience and research of the last few years. Fritjof Capra summarises a few interesting results from an international conference on sustainable agriculture that took place in 1999 in Bellagio in Italy:

In Bellagio scientists reported that "a series of major experimental agricultural projects throughout the whole world in which agroecological techniques - fruit changeover, intercropping (the cultivation of other plants), the use of mulch and compost, terrace cultivation, water cultivation etc. - have achieved spectacular results mostly in areas weak in resources, that had been deemed unsuitable for achieving surplus foodstuffs.

For instance, agroecological projects, in which some 730,000 farm households throughout Africa participated, led to increases in yields of between 50 and 100 percent, whereas the production costs fell resulting in dramatic increases in the income of households - sometimes as much as 10 times more. It was continually shown that biodynamic agriculture not only increases production and offers a large variety of ecological advantages, but also benefits the farmers."

[Source: Fritjof Capra, "Verborgene Zusammenhänge" (Hidden Correlations). "Vernetzt denken und handeln" (Networked thinking and action) in Wirtschaft, Politik, Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft (Economy, Politics, Science and Society), Bern, amongst others 2002, p. 250]

The complete report is available for download as a PDF file [750 kb] on various websites on the Internet, including the following: http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/international/conference/bellagio.pdf

[Author: Ragnar Müller]

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