Unpacking Sustainability: The Case of Agriculture

A fundamental issue in the field of sustainability is the way it is defined. The normative definition of sustainability, which first appeared in the UN’s 1987 Brundtland Commission report, establishes an overriding anthropocentric focus, emphasizing human sustainability to the detriment of environmental and planetary sustainability. Sustainable agriculture offers a case example of the clash between the anthropocentric concerns of unlimited economic growth and the limits of the environment. This chapter will examine the complex factors that render modern agribusiness environmentally unsustainable and offer alternative approaches to achieve sustainability.