Keystone Report: Agric Production is Efficient

The report “Field to Market: The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture” has just been released by Keystone Alliance, a diverse group facilitated by the non-profit organization, Keystone Center, specializing in collaborative decision-making processes for environment, energy, and health policy issues. The initial findings of the Environmental Resource Indicators report indicate that “crop production is already making progress toward reducing its environmental footprint”.

Agricultural sustainability is defined as "meeting the needs of the present while improving the ability to feed future generations by focusing on increasing agricultural productivity while decreasing environmental impact, improving human health through access to safe, nutritious food and improving social and economic well-being of rural communities.” Michael Reuter, director of conservation programs for the Central US Region of The Nature Conservancy notes that  “Several trends are emerging. Importantly, production agriculture has become increasingly efficient, relying on fewer inputs to produce more. However, we recognize there are significant challenges ahead in meeting increased global demand in a sustainable manner”. Howard L. Minigh, president and CEO of CropLife International, said that the report shows that agriculture is moving in the right direction in reducing its environmental impact.

See the full report at http://www.keystone.org/spp/env-sustain_ag.html and the media release of CropLife International at http://www.croplife.org/library/attachments/3acfb0c0-2eee-4a9e-a449-cdfeb18c5ddd/4/2009%2001%2012%20-%20Keystone%20Report%20press%20release.pdf.