ABSTRACT
Sustainability has economic dimensions and social dimensions. This chapter focuses on environmental and natural resource dimensions. While an environmentally sound agriculture will rely mainly on the market for decisions regarding what, when, how, and where to produce, the public sector role is often pivotal in encouraging private firms to act in the public interest. The chapter addresses some of the issues: renewable resource degradation, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and non-renewable resource depletion. Soil erosion compromises the sustainability of American agriculture. Environmental problems of non-renewable agricultural resources extend beyond soil loss and water and food quality. The Environmental Protection Agency would continue to address problems of point-source pollution and associated air and water quality problems on large livestock farms. One set of issues arises from loss of farmland, wildlife habitat, and associated biodiversity. Government policies for a sustainable agriculture could benefit from greater targeting, complementary technologies, and focused research.
