Studying sustainability While numerous institutions are examining holistic production in the U.S., there are only a few in Canada
If Google is any indication, sustainable agriculture research and extension are thriving in the United States.
Universities in North Carolina, Iowa, Vermont, California, Wisconsin have developed sustainable agriculture programs or centres.
As well, for 25 years the U.S. Department of Agriculture has run the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), a nationwide program to support profitable agriculture that sustains the nation’s land and water.
On top of that, individual farms and non-governmental organizations across the U.S. have established ecological and sustainable farming institutes and centres.
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In Canada, centres have been set up to study organic production systems, but few focus on sustainable ag.
“I would say we are definitely behind the U.S,” said Mehdi Sharifi, Canada research chair in sustainable agriculture at Trent University.
“They have more organized institutions and centres…. We’re still figuring things out. But the agricultural system in Canada is a bit different that the U.S, so we have to find our own path.”
Sharifi said there are sustainable agriculture programs at the universities of Alberta and Trent and a couple of colleges, including Fleming College in Ontario.
As well, the University of British Columbia has a Centre for Sustainable Food Systems as part of its Faculty of Land and Food Systems.
What the U.S. and Canadian experts study at those centres and institutes likely varies because there isn’t a universal definition of sustainable agriculture.
Sharifi said it’s too simplistic to define it as something on the spectrum between organic and conventional production.
“Sustainable agriculture is basically a holistic approach,” he said.
“It’s a system that sustains production over the long term. It sustains the economic viability of the farm operation…. The third component is the social aspect of that. The sustainable system should enhance the quality of life for the farmer, farm workers and society as a whole.”
It should also have a minimal impact on the environment and use non-renewable resources efficiently.
He said it’s distinct from organic agriculture because organic is basically a production model.
“In organic, the focus is the production, not using herbicides, pesticides, hormones and so on. So the focus is on the production aspect, not on the economic or social aspect,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of production system (a farmer em-ploys), it could be sustainable or unsustainable. So you could have organic production and it could be unsustainable.”
Sustainable is also different from conventional agriculture, which focuses on inputs and yield.
“The process in the conventional (model) is more linear: inputs and output,” he said.
“In the ecological system… you try to recycle stuff. You don’t just put stuff in and take stuff out.”
Sharifi said zero tillage is certainly a production component of sustainable agriculture because it uses less energy and benefits the environment. However, adopting one practice doesn’t make a farm sustainable, he added.
Fred Kirschenmann, distinguished fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State, said sustainable agriculture experts and extension personnel in the U.S. are encouraging conventional growers to adopt cover crops and more complex rotations to benefit soil health.
He said it’s possible for producers who use pesticides and GMOs to become sustainable.
“I could easily see a future where these farmers who are not organic, but are devoted to the biological health of their soil, may be more sustainable than some of the organic farmers who are using natural inputs,” said Kirschenmann, who is an organic farmer.
Sharifi said the GM issue is a tricky one for proponents of sustainable agriculture. From his viewpoint, GMOs should not be part of a sustainable agriculture system because the long-term consequences of GM traits on soil health are still not understood.
However, other experts and members of the movement have a different opinion, he added.
