The book summarizes actual and/or relative environmental impacts resulting from existing and emerging agricultural production technologies, as practised in the USA. Case studies of environmental impacts of agricultural practices are discussed in one chapter, while separate chapters consider water and soil, air quality, noise and waste impacts. Air pollutants from cultivation operations, burning, agricultural vehicles, harvesting and grain handling, pesticide applications, wind erosion etc. are all considered. Noise produced by agricultural activities and exposure patterns for agricultural workers are examined. An annotated bibliography is included for the environmental impacts discussed in the text. Emerging agricultural production technologies such as nitrogen fixation, genetic engineering, plant growth regulation, erosion control, water management and waste utilization etc. are also compared for efficiency and environmental impacts.

This volume examines the factors currently affecting agriculture on a global scale. Land use, soil quality, and the inherent production of greenhouse gasses by agriculture each receive their own chapters.

How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.

Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.

"Sustainability is at the heart of FAO's new Strategic Framework and is the specific focus of Strategic Objective 2, which aims at sustainably increasing the provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries. This report is the outcome of intensive consultations and discussions aimed at developing a common approach to FAO's work on sustainability. That process was conducted in a climate of cross-sectoral collaboration that drew on the contributions of leading FAO and external specialists in crops, livestock, forestry, capture fisheries, aquaculture and natural resources. The report provides the vision, the key principles and indications on the way forward to transition towards sustainable food and agriculture. It builds on the Organization's long experience in developing sustainability concepts, approaches and tools, and offers a common platform for a vision of the agriculture sector and of the inter-sectoral synergies that will eventually make agriculture more productive and sustainable."--Publisher's information.

This publication is based on Water for people - water for life, the UN World Water Development Report - UNESCO-WWAP 2003 where it appears as chapter 8 - securing food for a growing population. The report was jointly published by UNESCO and Berghahn Books and a slightly modified version of chapter 8 of the report is reproduced here.

The book summarizes actual and/or relative environmental impacts resulting from existing and emerging agricultural production technologies, as practised in the USA. Case studies of environmental impacts of agricultural practices are discussed in one chapter, while separate chapters consider water and soil, air quality, noise and waste impacts. Air pollutants from cultivation operations, burning, agricultural vehicles, harvesting and grain handling, pesticide applications, wind erosion etc. are all considered. Noise produced by agricultural activities and exposure patterns for agricultural workers are examined. An annotated bibliography is included for the environmental impacts discussed in the text. Emerging agricultural production technologies such as nitrogen fixation, genetic engineering, plant growth regulation, erosion control, water management and waste utilization etc. are also compared for efficiency and environmental impacts.