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Article: Is Sustainable Agriculture a Fallacy?
- Article from:
- Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
- Article date:
- January 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Soil & Water Conservation Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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According to the United Nations Population Fund, the world's population has reached and exceeded 6 billion with the birth of 370,000 children on October 11, 1999. Population has doubled since 1960 and it is projected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050. Schools of thought are divided between celebrating this milestone as a "tribute to human ingenuity," and condemning it as an explosion and a symptom of inevitable gloom and doom in the future of the human race.
Optimists remind us that agriculture has been a most dynamic enterprise with a remarkable historic track record for meeting global human needs. They cite:
* Persisting low prices and open (free) ...