The Need for Sustainable Food Production Systems - Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems - page 21

Jackson, W., W. Berry, and B. Colman (eds.) 1986. Meeting the
Expectation of the Land . Berkeley CA: Northpoint
Press. A collection of contributions from a diverse set of
experts, designed to inform the general public of the
people- and culture-based elements that are needed to
make the transition to a sustainable agriculture.
Kimbrell, A., (ed.) 2002. The Fatal Harvest Reader: The Tragedy
of Industrial Agriculture . Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
An important collection of essays that vividly portray the
devastating impacts of the current industrial agricultural
system on the environment, human health, and farm com-
munities, and present a compelling vision for a healthy,
humane, and sustainable agriculture for the future.
Miller, G.T., Jr. 2004. Living in the Environment: Principles,
Connections, and Solutions . 14th ed. Belmont, CA:
Brooks/Cole, One of the most up-to-date textbooks
in the field of environmental science, with a focus
on problem solving.
Postel, S. and B. Richter, 2003. Rivers for Life: Managing Water
for People and Nature . Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Explains the ecological and economic value of healthy
riverine systems and how human alteration of rivers —
in part to provide water for irrigation — has completely
altered the ecology and hydrology of rivers, imperiling
both their dependent wildlife and the human societies
that depend on healthy rivers for their “ecosystem
services.”
Pretty, Jules N. 1995. Regenerating Agriculture: Policies and
Practice for Sustainability and Self-Reliance . Wash-
ington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press. An extensive review
of the need for redirection agricultural policy and prac-
tice, and the steps that are taking place to create the
change.
Rickerl, D. and C. Francis (eds.) 2004. Agroecosystem Analysis ,
Monograph #43 in the Agronomy Series . Madison,
Wisconsin: American Society of Agronomy. A valuable
review of agroecology as a field of inquiry that seeks to
provide an ecologically based assessment of the struc-
ture, function, multidimensionality, and spatial scale of
sustainable food systems.