The very idea of sustainability

Charles Blatz

Agriculture and Human Values, 1992, vol. 9, issue 4, 12-28

Abstract: Discussions of the desirability and ethical justifiability of sustainable agriculture are frequently impeded, if not derailed by the variety of meanings attached to the term “sustainable.” This paper suggests a taxonomy of different notions of sustainability distinguishing between agricultural product and process sustainability, in both static and dynamic forms, pursued by reductive (extractive), compensatory, regenerative, and induced homeostasis strategies. The discussion then goes on to argue that ethics demand sustainable agriculture. Finally the paper tries to identify just which types of sustainable agriculture will meet the ethical demands. I conclude with reasons for living sustainably in the present, as opposed to trying to orient agriculture by reference to the rights of future generations. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1992

Date: 1992
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DOI: 10.1007/BF02217961

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