With growing concern about the impact of production systems on the environment, many efforts have been made to shift both producer and consumer behavior. Ecolabelling is one approach that aims to (1) inform consumers about the environmental impact of their consumption patterns and (2) encourage producers to improve the environmental sustainability of their products and…
In 1920, more than half of the United States’ population were farmers. They lived a peasant life in rural communities and were skilled in a range of animal rearing and crop production skills. Farmers tended to embrace natural complementaries between the unique components of the farm to establish healthy food production systems. Most farm work…
The expansion of urban agriculture is arguably necessary to feed the world’s population, especially as the global migration towards urban centers continues. However, there is a range of hindrances preventing its full utilization, all of which are not necessarily exclusive to urban production systems – especially problems associated with a lack of foresight. Populations within…
Explore the health, environmental, and social disadvantages associated with urban agriculture. Discover strategies to mitigate these challenges.
Agriculture has been a part of urban spaces since man began establishing towns and cities. However, as populations grew, agriculture needed to be outsourced to rural or urban spaces to meet the growing demand of urban citizens. While it may still be necessary to produce more calorie-dense and space-intensive crops, e.g. grains and trees, growing…
Although there are range of motivations for choosing to intercrop in a farming system, strong production and output are undoubtedly main priorities. Accordingly, a means to measure the efficacy is necessary. This allows a farmer to objectively evaluate the outcome of their cropping plan and adjust their practices, e.g. spacing and cultivar use, accordingly. The…
Producing a vast amount of the world’s food, small farms are valuable assets that contribute to long-term economic sustainability and food security. What actually constitutes a small farm is hard to specify as there are extreme variations in societal structure, ergo many definitions exist. In the United States, a small farm is defined as any…
Sustainable agriculture has become increasingly supported by citizens and farmers alike. According to the United States’ 1990 Farm Bill, for agriculture to be sustainable agriculture it meets the following requirements: Production must satisfy the human need for food and fibers Environmental quality and natural resource base that the agricultural economy depends upon must be enhanced…
Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic plants and animals. The field has grown rapidly throughout the past years because of a lack of arable land and increasing consumer demand for marine proteins and vegetables. Supply is also affected by pressure on wild populations and a growing recognition of the environmental impact of commercial fishing. For…
It is not difficult to argue that the environment can manage itself in the event that humans are not available to intervene. However, humans are at present an integral part of the natural environment and our interactions with the environment often negatively impact the environment by altering its normal functionality, subsequently resulting in the emergence…