Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
environmental non-governmental organization were exceptionally entre-
preneurial in its development. They assembled all the necessary pieces to
this model, and circulated knowledge widely. Protected Harvest works
with agriculture to verify the progress that groups of growers make
toward environmental goals and reduced impacts from pesticides.
Protected Harvest is poised to forge a vital link between environmentally
responsible growers and the consuming public. Protected Harvest is
unusual among third party certification agencies because it works to cer-
tify local groups of growers. This means that pre-existing cooperative
agroecological initiatives, such the Healthy Grown partnership or Lodi
Woodbridge Winegrape Commission, are able to capture further benefits
from their historical social networking. The USEPA awarded Protected
Harvest a $425,000 grant in 2005 to develop standards for dairy,
almonds, tomatoes, and stone fruit in California.
Protected Harvest provides a critical link between agroecological ini-
tiatives and the public, yet it is unfortunate that this kind of organization
is needed. Much of the consuming public has lost trust in the American
industrial food system because the agricultural industry and policy mak-
ers have for too long failed to address its negative environmental and
health impacts. For too long, the United States has only measured agri-
cultural benefits in terms of cheap, voluminous food. Protected Harvest
provides economic rewards for groups of entrepreneurial growers, and
that is good. It helps environmentally conscious consumers to have con-
fidence in the health and stewardship of some food products, which is
also good. For a genuinely healthier relationship between food, farming,
and society in the United States, however, we need a broad, vigorous
debate about how policies can foster the kind of agriculture we want,
and the science needed to support that.
The Logic or Illogic of Agroecology in Advanced Capitalist Countries
Agricultural science is like the tip of the spear—it indicates the trajectory
of progress, for better or worse. The science of agroecology requires
careful observation of nature as an integrated system that varies across
time and space, which requires specialized knowledge and labor.
The environmental harm caused by agriculture is rooted in simple tech-
nologies that have serious impacts when deployed across a wide scale.
