Breaking the Cycle: Creating a Sustainable Agricultural System

Abstract

First paragraph: Agriculture is currently in an unsustainable cycle created by the industrial food system. Breaking that cycle and creating a sustainable agriculture system will not be easy and requires dramatically altering the food system framework. In Defense of Farmers: The Future of Agriculture in the Shadow of Corporate Power, edited by Jane W. Gibson and Sara E. Alexander, examines parts of the history of industrial agriculture, the current situation, and a potential future. The book would be valuable for food system leaders and policy-makers and in graduate seminars. Analyses of examples of industrial agriculture in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Bolivia highlight unsustainable methods and suggest improvements that could serve as a starting point for dialogues and decisions on changing the food system framework. . . .