The Land Institute in Salina Kansas, and other researchers at
various universities, are working on perennial cropping systems that would
address many of the ecological problems with modern agriculture. See an article
by Jerry Glover (a Land Institute researcher) et al. in the latest issue of
Science: "Increased food and ecosystem security via perennial grains."
I would agree with previous posts that Monsanto and their ilk have no interest
whatsoever in sustainable agriculture per se but they give it lip service - has
anyone heard their ads on NPR? Talk about propaganda. They are interested
in making money, and they invest considerable money and effort in driving
farmers who don't use their products out of business. If small family farms are
in any way a part of a sustainable future for agriculture,
agro-business multinationals are often directly counter to the interests of
small family farms, although they would say otherwise of course.
cheers,
Sarah
Sarah Jack Hinners, PhD
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
Campus Box 216
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309
