Download or read book A Systems Method for Evaluating the Sustainability of Ag production written by Carlos Enrique Hernández and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Methods and Procedures for Building Sustainable Farming Systems written by Ana Alexandra Marta-Costa and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-10-17 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Showing how the method of sustainability assessment plays a key role in choosing the best agricultural productive mode, this book guides the reader through the process of selecting, from among the various approaches for building farming systems, the method of decision-making that will result in the most appropriate outcome, given the context. Case studies hail from polities as diverse as Portugal and Canada, Argentina and Lebanon. The work thus offers a valuable critical survey of the assessment methods that account for sustainability and economics, and which have developed considerably in the last two decades. The heterogeneous approaches covered here make this volume appropriate for consultation in a wide variety of social, political and geographical contexts.
Download or read book Evaluating the Sustainability of Alternative Crop Production Systems written by Douglas Tom Hortin and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Weak Versus Strong Sustainability written by Eric Neumayer and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This third edition of an enduring and popular book has been fully updated and revised, exploring the two opposing paradigms of sustainability in an insightful and accessible way. Eric Neumayer contends that central to the debate on sustainable development is the question of whether natural capital can be substituted by other forms of capital. Proponents of weak sustainability maintain that such substitutability is possible, whilst followers of strong sustainability regard natural capital as non-substitutable. The author examines the availability of natural resources for the production of consumption goods and the environmental consequences of economic growth. He identifies the critical forms of natural capital in need of preservation given risk, uncertainty and ignorance about the future and opportunity costs of preservation. He goes on to provide a critical discussion of measures of sustainability. Indicators of weak sustainability such as Genuine Savings and the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare also known as the Genuine Progress Indicator are analysed, as are indicators of strong sustainability, including ecological footprints, material flows and sustainability gaps. This book will prove essential reading for students, scholars and policymakers with an interest in ecological and environmental economics and sustainable development.
Download or read book Agricultural Sustainability written by Gary W vanLoon and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2005-05 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes how to develop methods for evaluating and assessing the sustainable development of agricultural systems in a micro-region. A comprehensive and practical book, it guides the reader through details of the methodology needed to carry out an appropriate assessment, and focuses on the central problem of whether productivity can be maintained. More specifically, it: - Discusses the meanings of sustainability and sustainable development, and reviews the issues related to agricultural sustainability. - Examines the theory and practice of indicators and delineates the six categories considered necessary for a holistic evaluation: productivity, stability, efficiency, durability, compatibility and equity.
Download or read book Food Systems Modelling written by Christian J. Peters and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2022-01-08 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food Systems Modelling emphasizes sustainability, including the impact of agriculture and food production on profits, people and environment, with a particular focus on the ability of humanity to continue producing food in the midst of global environmental change. Sections introduce the purpose of models, the definition of a food system, the importance of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary inquiry, cover specific branches of modeling in the sustainability of food systems, and wrestle with the challenge of communicating modeling research and appropriately integrating multiple dimensions of sustainability. This book will be a welcomed reference for food scientists, agricultural scientists, nutritionists, environmental scientists, ecologists, economists, those working in agribusiness and food supply chain management, community and public health, and urban and regional planning, as well as academicians and graduate students interested in the sustainability of food systems. Emphasizes sustainability, including the impact of agriculture and food production on profits Focuses on the ability of humanity to continue producing food in the midst of global environmental change Deciphers what models can teach us about food system sustainability
Download or read book The Challenge of Sustainability in Agricultural Systems written by Aleksei V. Bogoviz and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-06-05 with total page 1058 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together segmental knowledge and creates new insights on the sustainability of agricultural systems, critically analyzing not only individual system components, but also focusing on interactions between them and external environments. This book is primarily devoted to (1) agricultural agribusiness, (2) policies and institutions, and (3) farming systems. The compelling collection of chapters presents critical, comparative, and balanced perspectives on what changes are needed to achieve and maintain sustainability in agricultural systems, actively leading to new ways of thinking about these complex issues. The research presented relies on an array of methods developed within complex systems science, addresses the existing gaps in the scholarship, and uses original data collected on the development of agricultural systems. Finally, the authors provide robust conclusions and recommendations for both scholars and practitioners in the field of studying, constructing, and maintaining sustainable agricultural systems. The special focus of the book is on technologies, policies, and management systems enabling sustainable agricultural development. A rich collection of practical cases could be used to move from theories to reality. The book appeals to both academics and professionals working in the field.
Download or read book The Challenge of Sustainability in Agricultural Systems written by Aleksei V. Bogoviz and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-06-02 with total page 913 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a multidisciplinary collection of original contributions made by the leading scholars and practitioners on researching, building, and maintaining sustainable agricultural systems. Being the first of its kind, the book is divided into two volumes. This book presents a comprehensive and informed review of the current state of multidisciplinary knowledge on sustainability in agriculture. The gaps in the scholarly literature are identified and rigorously analyzed, presenting a clear picture of the promising research directions. The authors critically analyze the very concept of sustainable agricultural systems, primarily focusing on the interactions existing between their integral components and with external environments. Relying on the provisions of complex systems science, the scholars then discuss the best approaches and methodologies used to build a comprehensive understanding of agricultural systems, with relation to achieving and maintaining their sustainability. More than that, this book holds two rich sections on (1) agricultural economics and (2) rural sustainability. Understanding sustainable development as a movement toward clearly defined and measurable goals, a set of chapters explore those policies, practices, technologies, and management systems that have an impact on the sustainability of agricultural systems. Agricultural sustainability is an urgent issue to be addressed, and this book makes a unique contribution. Due to its practical focus, the book appeals to practitioners and policymakers working in agricultural economics, governance, and sustainability, not just academics. This is also a valuable resource for graduate students interested in agricultural systems, sustainability, as well as complex systems theory and practice.
Download or read book Methods in Sustainability Science written by Jingzheng Ren and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-08-05 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Methods in Sustainability Science: Assessment, Prioritization, Improvement, Design and Optimization presents cutting edge, detailed methodologies needed to create sustainable growth in any field or industry, including life cycle assessments, building design, and energy systems. The book utilized a systematic structured approach to each of the methodologies described in an interdisciplinary way to ensure the methodologies are applicable in the real world, including case studies to demonstrate the methods. The chapters are written by a global team of authors in a variety of sustainability related fields. Methods in Sustainability Science: Assessment, Prioritization, Improvement, Design and Optimization will provide academics, researchers and practitioners in sustainability, especially environmental science and environmental engineering, with the most recent methodologies needed to maintain a sustainable future. It is also a necessary read for postgraduates in sustainability, as well as academics and researchers in energy and chemical engineering who need to ensure their industrial methodologies are sustainable. Provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent methodologies in sustainability assessment, prioritization, improvement, design and optimization Sections are organized in a systematic and logical way to clearly present the most recent methodologies for sustainability and the chapters utilize an interdisciplinary approach that covers all considerations of sustainability Includes detailed case studies demonstrating the efficacies of the described methods
Download or read book A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Systems Research for Agriculture written by Laurie E. Drinkwater and published by Department of Agriculture. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sustainable Food System Assessment written by Alison Blay-Palmer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-22 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainable Food System Assessment provides both practical and theoretical insights about the growing interest in and response to measuring food system sustainability. Bringing together research from the Global North and South, this book shares lessons learned, explores intended and actual project outcomes, and highlights points of conceptual and methodological convergence. Interest in assessing food system sustainability is growing, as evidenced by the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and the importance food systems initiatives have taken in serving as a lever for attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This book opens by looking at the conceptual considerations of food systems indicators, including the place-based dimensions of food systems indicators and how measurements are implicated in sense-making and visioning processes. Chapters in the second part cover operationalizing metrics, including the development of food systems indicator frameworks, degrees of indicator complexities, and practical constraints to assessment. The final part focuses on the outcomes of assessment projects, including impacts on food policy and communities involved, highlighting the importance of building connections between sustainable food systems initiatives. The global coverage and multi-scalar perspectives, including both conceptual and practical aspects, make this a key resource for academics and practitioners across planning, geography, urban studies, food studies, and research methods. It will also be of interest to government officials and those working within NGOs. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.routledge.com/Sustainable-Food-System-Assessment-Lessons-from-Global-Practice/Blay-Palmer-Conare-Meter-Battista-Johnston/p/book/9781032083933, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Download or read book Systems Analysis and Modeling in Food and Agriculture written by K.C.Ting and published by EOLSS Publications. This book was released on 2009-02-12 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems Analysis and Modeling in Food and Agriculture is a component of Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Systems analysis and modeling is being used increasingly in understanding and solving problems in food and agriculture. The purpose of systems analysis is to support decisions by emphasizing the interactions of processes and components within a system. Frequently investigated systems level questions in agriculture and food are relevant to the 6 E's: Environment, Energy, Ecology, Economics, Education, and Efficiency. The theme on Systems Analysis and Modeling in Food and Agriculture with contributions from distinguished experts in the field provides information on key topics related to food and agricultural system. The coverage include an overview of food system; system level aspects related to energy, environment, and social/policy issues; knowledge bases and decision support; computer models for crops, food processing, water resources, and agricultural meteorology; collection and analysis methods for data from field experiments; use of models and information systems. This volume is aimed at the following a wide spectrum of audiences from the merely curious to those seeking in-depth knowledge: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.
Download or read book Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-06-25 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last 20 years, there has been a remarkable emergence of innovations and technological advances that are generating promising changes and opportunities for sustainable agriculture, yet at the same time the agricultural sector worldwide faces numerous daunting challenges. Not only is the agricultural sector expected to produce adequate food, fiber, and feed, and contribute to biofuels to meet the needs of a rising global population, it is expected to do so under increasingly scarce natural resources and climate change. Growing awareness of the unintended impacts associated with some agricultural production practices has led to heightened societal expectations for improved environmental, community, labor, and animal welfare standards in agriculture. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century assesses the scientific evidence for the strengths and weaknesses of different production, marketing, and policy approaches for improving and reducing the costs and unintended consequences of agricultural production. It discusses the principles underlying farming systems and practices that could improve the sustainability. It also explores how those lessons learned could be applied to agriculture in different regional and international settings, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. By focusing on a systems approach to improving the sustainability of U.S. agriculture, this book can have a profound impact on the development and implementation of sustainable farming systems. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century serves as a valuable resource for policy makers, farmers, experts in food production and agribusiness, and federal regulatory agencies.
Download or read book Agroecological Practices For Sustainable Agriculture Principles Applications And Making The Transition written by Alexander Wezel and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2017-06-19 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Good agroecological practices are indispensable for the development of sustainable agriculture. In this book, principles, diversity and applications of agroecological practices for a range of systems are presented, transforming scientific research and participatory knowledge of production into practical application. It illustrates a broad range of research and teaching being used within the farming community to demonstrate best practice and current state-of-play within the field. Agroecological methods used in crop farming, grass-based livestock farming, fish production, and other complex farming systems are discussed. Conclusions are drawn from studies to provide an outlook on future trends of agroecological practices and on policies supporting implementation.Due to emphasis on real-life application, it is relevant not only to students of the agricultural sciences and public policy, but also to researchers, stakeholders and policy makers involved in the development of sustainable agriculture.
Download or read book Methodologies for Assessing Sustainability in Farming Systems written by Jaime Fabián Cruz and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Development of composite indicators is considered an important approach for evaluating sustainable development. For agriculture, different indicators have been developed such as Delphi, IDEA, MESMIS, MOTIFS, RISE, or SAFE. For its construction, usually bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques were employed. These are pragmatic tools used to simplify the description of complex systems by the use of three functions: to simplify, to quantify, and to communicate easily. Criteria for indicator selection include policy relevance, validity, accessibility, and measurability. However, operational evaluation of agricultural sustainability presents problems, because it requires analyzing the future production of goods and services, which need to be observed on a reasonable time horizon, and other difficulties involve interpreting the combination of indicators required for such analyses. This chapter realizes a review of these methodologies and its applications.
Download or read book SAFA Guidelines written by and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) Guidelines were developed for assessing the impact of food and agriculture operations on the environment and people. The guiding vision of SAFA is that food and agriculture systems worldwide are characterized by all four dimensions of sustainability: good governance, environmental integrity, economic resilience and social well-being.
