This paper examines conceptual and methodological barriers to using
sustainability’ as a criterion for guiding change in agriculture and proposes
elements necessary for approaches to characterizing sustainability to be generally
useful. Two broad interpretations of agricultural sustainability have
emerged with dtj5erent underlying goals: sustainability interpreted as an
approach to agriculture developed in response to concerns about impacts of
agriculture, with motivating adherence to sustainable ideologies and practices
as its goal: and sustainability interpreted as a property of agriculture developed
in response to concerns about threats to agriculture, with the goal of
using it as a criterion for guiding agriculture as it responds to change. Interpreting
sustainability as an approach has been useful for motivating change.
However, usefulness of this interpretation as a criterion for guiding change is
hindered by a lack of generality of prescribed approaches, a distorted view of
conventional agriculture and circular logic. Although interpreting sustainability
as a system property is logically more consistent, conceptual and practical
problems with its characterization have limited its usefulness as a criterion
for guiding change. In order for sustainability to be a useful criterion for
guiding change in agriculture, its characterization should be literal, system oriented,
quantitative, predictive, stochastic and diagnostic.
This paper examines conceptual and methodological barriers to usingsustainability’ as a criterion for guiding change in agriculture and proposeselements necessary for approaches to characterizing sustainability to be generallyuseful. Two broad interpretations of agricultural sustainability haveemerged with dtj5erent underlying goals: sustainability interpreted as anapproach to agriculture developed in response to concerns about impacts ofagriculture, with motivating adherence to sustainable ideologies and practicesas its goal: and sustainability interpreted as a property of agriculture developedin response to concerns about threats to agriculture, with the goal ofusing it as a criterion for guiding agriculture as it responds to change. Interpretingsustainability as an approach has been useful for motivating change.However, usefulness of this interpretation as a criterion for guiding change ishindered by a lack of generality of prescribed approaches, a distorted view ofconventional agriculture and circular logic. Although interpreting sustainabilityas a system property is logically more consistent, conceptual and practicalproblems with its characterization have limited its usefulness as a criterionfor guiding change. In order for sustainability to be a useful criterion forguiding change in agriculture, its characterization should be literal, system oriented,quantitative, predictive, stochastic and diagnostic.
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