Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture: Historical Perspectives

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.

This important compilation presents an in-depth view spanning past values and practices, present understandings, and potential futures, and covering a range of concrete case studies on sustainable development of organic agriculture. The book explores the very different facets of organic and sustainable agriculture.

Part I of this book delves into the ways that people have approached organic agriculture in sociological, scientific, and economic terms. Part II looks ahead to the future of organic agriculture, presenting opportunities for further progress. Part III consists of an extensive bibliography chronologically developing the progress of organic and sustainable agriculture over two thousand years.

The book

• Studies the cultural dimension of organic consumption



• Presents how sustainable agriculture can reduce and mitigate the impact of climate change on crop production



• Looks at the impact of agriculture on both famine and rural poverty in an ecofriendly and socially inclusive manner



• Examines six of the oldest grain-crop-based organic comparison experiments in the US, looking at the environmental and economic outcomes from organic agroecosystems, to both producers and policymakers



• Reviews the role of experimentation and innovation in developing sustainable organic agriculture



• Looks at the challenges of organic farmers



• Discusses ways to ensure sustainability and resilience of farming



• Looks at ways to change the mindset of farmers especially in traditional farming communities



• Explores the development of organic and sustainable agriculture through more than 500 years, ending with the early twenty-first century.

Altogether, the chapters provide a nuanced look at the development of organic and sustainable agriculture, with the conclusion that organic is not enough to be sustainable.