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5 Enacting Change
Pages 29-38

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From page 29...
... Achieving these and many other goals will require changes throughout agriculture and in the broader food systems of which agriculture is a relatively small but foundational part. Great overlap exists between decreasing climate and biodiversity risk and ensuring food and nutrition security.
From page 30...
... This will require a wide variety of policies affecting incentives, regulation, and broader governance frameworks. The individuals involved include consumers, shareholders, civil society organizations, farmers, and fishers.
From page 31...
... Levers for Change A wide range of policy levers exists to overcome barriers, including incentives, regulation, and the establishment of new business and policy frameworks. Agricultural subsidies could support rather than detract from sustainability -- for example, moving toward rewarding positive environmental outcomes.
From page 32...
... One approach to soil management would be to supplement legislation directed toward clean water and air with similar legislation designed to foster soil health. Farmers and land managers could be empowered to restore degraded soils, increase the organic carbon stored in soil, and save soil and water for nature conservancy.
From page 33...
... According to one effort to model agricultural subsidy reform, removing all agricultural subsidies could be economically and environmentally beneficial but could negatively impact population health, mostly because of a reduction in fruit and vegetable consumption.6 Coupling subsidies to the production of more nutritious crops could improve population health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it also could have negative economic impact by reducing the overall efficiency of the agricultural sector. According to this analysis, restructuring of subsidies across countries -- for example, according to their share of global population or global gross domestic product -- could simultaneously result in health benefits, avoid economic losses, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
From page 34...
... The research agenda could then focus on more varied diets to provide nutrients, more varied farming systems, smaller-scale farming, systemic efficiency, low waste, whole foods, less processed foods, and short supply chains. Researchers could investigate the integration of data and systems, the consequences of agricultural practices, soil health and soil–water interac tions, the food system as a whole (including dependencies, touch points, immediate opportunities)
From page 35...
... For example, in the United States the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research is an organization that was founded to bring together public–private partnerships to shape agricultural research and production, and it has catalyzed several major initiatives focused on nutrition, food security, and sustainability. One is a partnership that connects scientists, farmers, and ranchers, beginning with coordinated precompetitive research to create customized solutions for individual farms and ranches that can then be deployed, first in the United States and then globally, in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner.
From page 36...
... If messages about sustainability from the research community were clear and actionable, then those messages would be more likely to drive policy change. Sustainable agriculture will be characterized by healthy ecosystems and healthy diets that ensure resilience to climate change, economic security, social inclusion, and human well-being.
From page 37...
... "Ultimately, we need to change the zeitgeist of our relationship with nature and bring its value central to decision making. To help achieve this, we, as natural scientists, must go outside our comfort zones and forge more ‘radical collaborations' with social scientists, economists, engineers, and policy makers -- with all the end users of our research.


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