Sustainable Agriculture Archives - Sociology Lens Insights

14th September 2009

Creating a Market for Biodiversity Stewardship

by ESMinihan The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) has successfully negotiated a $116 million benefit sharing fund designed to facilitate biodiversity conservation efforts (see Feeding the future: agricultural biodiversity from CNN). The species targeted for protection are not majestic wild cats or giant panda bears, but rather household staples such as potatoes, wheat, rice and maize that provide half of the worlds calorie requirements. These efforts are an attempt to avoid potential disasters stemming...

The Hidden Costs of Cheap Foods

by smteixeirapoit In the United States, the agricultural industry produces massive quantities of cheap foods such as meats and grains. Although meats and grains are monetarily inexpensive, they have hidden costs to the environment, animals, and humans. Americans spend less money per calorie than ever before. But, what’s wrong with purchasing and consuming cheap foods? Although farmers are producing more calories than in the past, they are tending to produce more unhealthy calories because of the types of foods that...