CALL FOR PAPERS
Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers
San Francisco, 17-21 April 2007
Contemporary Issues in Agricultural Sustainability.
The term "sustainable agriculture" is often used colloquially to indicate
small- and mid-scale farmer-centered production. In these contexts,
agrosystems are considered "sustainable" when they are at once
economically feasible-they sustain human communities-and beneficial to
biophysical conditions. Elements of social justice, public health, and
food quality are often included as well. In these terms, "sustainable
agriculture" or "sustainable agro-food systems" are usually described at
the local (often rural) and landscape scales.
In the context of global population growth and agriculture's aggregate
impact on the biosphere, in contrast, the term "sustainable agriculture"
is mobilized to justify further intensification of industrial agricultural
systems. In this view, current and future demand is writ large, and only
high-yield conventional agriculture can meet it. The key research question
is how to mitigate "Big Ag's" negative ecological impact while retaining
its productivity. With aggregate demand always in mind, "agricultural
sustainability" is defined by total yield per unit of ecological impact, a
metric by which smaller-scale endeavors are judged insufficient.
Meanwhile the politics of agriculture are in upheaval; agricultural policy
has hamstrung the WTO, there are large food surpluses, and much
agricultural produce is not directed toward human consumption. Also, there
are many (often disparate) examples of high yield non-conventional
agrosystems that maintain interest in bottom-up visions of food security.
The concept of "sustainable agriculture" thus has much currency but
multiple and even antagonistic meanings. So, what are the ecologies and
politics of sustainable agriculture, and how do these vary in different
contexts and at different scales? The goal of the session is to identify
points of divergence in discussions of agricultural sustainability and to
suggest possible ground for their resolution. To that end, the session
welcomes papers on key conceptual and practical issues of sustainable
agriculture in both developed and developing world contexts.
Papers could entertain, but are not limited to:
Energy flows in agro-food systems.
Conceptualizations and estimations of food supply and demand.
Recent developments in agroecology.
Nutrition and diet change in agro-food systems.
Significance of scale in estimations of sustainability.
Agro-industry.
Ethics and agriculture.
Food-based social movements.
The geo-politics of food and agriculture.
Potential and/or limits of Biofuels.
Please email to indicate your interest in participating. Send paper
abstracts or other correspondence to Daniel Niles ([log in to unmask]) by
20 October 2006.
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