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Kyle Gatlin
Professor Amy Ludwig
English 101
31 May 2016
Sustainable Farming
This last winter, my family and I had the pleasure of visiting Walt Disney World's Epcot
theme park. There were many memorable moments from our visit to Epcot, most of which were
expected, but one surprising memory was not. We went on a ride called "Living with Land"
which was a boat ride through portions of Disney's backstage farming areas to show all the
innovative farming techniques. Disney is attempting to grow sustainable fruits and vegetables
which are then used in the restaurants throughout the Epcot and Walt Disney World theme parks.
My family and I were impressed and mesmerized by these techniques, some that we had never
heard or seen. The ride educated its passengers as to the agricultural advances in farming and
processes to yield the best crops using the best available natural substances to manage these
crops without using chemicals that would negatively impact the land and environment.
Examples of these farming advances included something as simple as a tomato plant that grew
like a tree, but was growing from sand to cut back on evaporation; to more technology driven
advances such as stacked plants that were being rotated through water sprinklers to grow as
much as they could while using a small amount of space. Our favorite contraption Disney had
on display was a well thought out drainage and recycling plant that maintains itself by circulating
and recycling water that is packed full of nutrients, supplied by the fish that are swimming
around in the water that feeds the plants. It's a constant cycle of nature helping nature with very
little human interference. Before this family trip to Epcot, I hadn't ever given much thought into
all the innovations that could be made in farming and agriculture, how different ways of growing
can impact the environment in a variety of ways. UC Davis' Agricultural Sustainability

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Institute's website explains, "Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental
health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity" (SAREP). Sustainably-grown
agriculture is not just about the way it is farmed but also the economic and social aspects that
would make farming a product sustainable. Agriculture that is grown with sustainable resources
will reduce our impact on planet earth by employing nature, while still providing opportunities
for growers' economic profitability by using innovative farming techniques that achieve the goal
of sustainable growing.
Sustainable farming became an important socio-economic topic sometime after World
War II. The farming industry began to thrive due to the inventions and innovations of that time
period that sped up the harvesting, a lot of which was based upon the steel industry and chemical
applications, Sustainable growing is the main focus from the team at UC Davis' Agricultural
Sustainability Institute. The Institute recognized the problems that occurred in the agriculture
industry that began at the end of World War II. This resulting from increased chemical and
machinery use, University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Program (SAREP) contributes many of today's problems on "food and fiber productivity that
soared due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and
government policies that favored maximizing production" (SAREP). The impacts on our
environment and planet wasn't considered. SAREP Continued to explain, "When the production
of food and fiber degrades the natural resource base, the ability of future generations to produce
and flourish decreases" (SAREP).
The focus needs to shift to where we continue striving to maximize production, but with
efficient methods; employing nature with techniques that don't negatively impact planet Earth. If
we can allow and utilize other facets of nature rather than relying on chemicals and machinery to
force growth, that will give rise to sustainable farming as the better solution without the long

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term negative effects. Sustainable growing is the future, but why is it so hard for the agricultural
industry to jump on board? It seems so simple. The economics to support a full transition to
sustainable farming makes the subject much more complicated rather than the simple statement
above. Is sustainable farming profitable? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) answers
this question in a publication on their website "Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms",
with a quote from the Union of Concerned Scientists; "Sustainable agriculture does not mean a
return to either the low yields or poor farmers that characterized the 19th century. Rather,
sustainability builds on current agricultural achievements, adopting a sophisticated approach that
can maintain high yields and farm profits without undermining the resources on which
agriculture depends" (USDA).
Most farmers want to produce profitable agriculture. Their crops is a business to make
money. However, with sustainable growing, a leading technique to get nutritious topsoil without
using harsh chemicals with negative long term impacts on planet earth is to alternate the crop
with another plant that can often be not so profitable. It's a tough decision on a farmer, losing the
profit that can be made by non-stop growing of what is in demand. Currently, there are many
different lobbyists that are taking propositions and measures to the legislature to get subsidies
passed that are needed to make a farmer's crop profitable when using sustainable techniques that
are purely for sustainable growing and to benefit the environment. A non-profit organization
called Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) provides proactive ideas and
solutions to help farmers profit while sustainable growing; "farmers and ranchers can boost their
financial sustainability by using a greater diversity of marketing techniques: processing on-farm;
creating value-added products and a strong brand identity; conducting market research to match
product to demand; selling direct to consumers at farmers markets, community-supported
agriculture (CSA) enterprises, roadside stands or through the web; and delivering to restaurants,

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small grocers and local institutionsto name just some techniques" (SARE). The paradigm shift
needs to occur where the agricultural industry and legislature doesn't ask "should we sustainable
grow crops", to "I must grow sustainable crops, so what else needs to change to keep the
economics and profit margin in my favor" (SARE)?
Techniques that farmers can use to lesson the harm on the environment and become
sustainable include non-tilling, cover crops, and aquaponics to name a few. Non-tilling
eliminates the use of machinery cutting back on fuel and labor costs while preserving the carbon
in the soil, a much needed nutrient. Cover crops are the alternate between growing the profit
yielding crops which include turnips, lentils, cow peas, etc. These alternate crops reduce the
need for fertilizer by preventing nitrogen loss, thus making the topsoil more nutrient rich.
Aquaponics is a system of utilizing fish tanks to provide a natural filtration process that adds the
nutrients needed in the soil thereby allowing water to be used as a fertilizer (SARE). It is not a
debate on whether sustainable farming is the right choice for the environment whereby
agriculture works in harmony with the natural land. Grace Communications Foundation in an
informational web page, stated the following; "By using farming techniques such as crop
rotation, conservation tillage, raising animals on pasture and natural fertilization, sustainable
farmers produce food without having a negative effect on the environment. Instead of harming
soil, air and water, sustainable farms actually enhance and preserve the land so that future
generations can continue to use it for food production" (Grace Communications Foundation ).
This organization feels that there is no other alternative to farming then to use sustainable
growing as a foundation to develop and build a better farming industry for our families now and
our future generations to come.

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Sustainable growing is where the agricultural industry is headed which is the right choice
for our planet. If farmers continue to rely on machinery and chemicals, the future looks bleak.
This needs to be supported not only by the agricultural industry and farmer, but also by the
legislature and other governmental bodies, as well as individuals. Society cannot expect a forprofit industry to simply reduce their profits, making that sacrifice without support. Continuing
to focus on more innovative techniques to help accomplish sustainable growing that helps to
minimize the negative impact on profit margins will help society reach its goal is sustainable
growing that much faster. The legislature and government can help by subsidizing growers to
help make sustainable growing feasible, create policies and governance to reduce the use of
harmful pesticides and chemicals, and provide funding to allow for more research and innovating
to continue to find better techniques to achieve sustainable growing. Individuals can help do their
part by purchasing produce from sustainable grown crops, thereby increasing the demand from
the agricultural industry. These are optional, yet necessary steps that everyone needs to take to
help protect planet Earth, lessen our impact on the environment and still maintain a healthy
agricultural industry where growers can thrive,

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Works Cited
Grace Communications Foundation. Environment
http://www.sustainabletable.org/265/environment. website (5/31/2016)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Sustainable Agriculture: definitions and terms,
www.afsic.nal.usda.gov/sustainable-agriculture-definitions-and-terms, website
(4/26/2016)
University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP),
What is Sustainable Agriculture?, http://asi.ucdavis.edu/programs/sarep, Website
(4/26/2016)
University of Maryland Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), What is
Sustainable Agriculture?, http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/SARE-ProgramMaterials/National-Program-Materials/What-is-Sustainable- Agriculture, published 2012,
Website, (4/26/2016)