Sustainable agriculture is the effort to raise crops and livestock in ways that are compatible with long-term environmental, economic, and social well-being. In general, sustainable farmers seek to replace such fossil fuels as oil and natural gas—and products derived from them—with renewable alternatives that can be regrown or replenished each year. For example, farmers may reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizer by planting cover crops to protect the soil and improve its fertility. Rather than relying on chemical pesticides, sustainable farmers often use beneficial organisms that naturally control insect pests and diseases.
In addition to environmental health, agriculture is also deeply intertwined with economic and social activity. For this reason, advocates of sustainable agriculture seek to encourage sustainability in those areas as well. For an agricultural system to be truly sustainable, both producers and consumers of food must be able to afford to participate in it.
Sustainable agriculture is sometimes contrasted with industrialized agriculture, an extremely productive form of farming that relies heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These materials can cause environmental pollution and pose health risks. Industrialized agriculture is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Because of its negative effects, and because there is a limited and dwindling supply of fossil fuels, industrialized farming practices have been broadly criticized as unsustainable.
