Agroecology

Agroecology is one of several fields that emerged as a response to the environmental and social impacts of industrialized agriculture (also termed conventional agriculture). Industrial agriculture's focus on maximizing yields and profits has resulted in negative impacts on social and ecological systems around the world. Many of the practices associated with industrial agriculture (e.g., soil tillage; excessive use of water, pesticides, and fertilizers) have led to increasing degradation of the long-term productivity and health of agricultural land. The term agroecology began appearing more frequently in the sustainable agriculture literature in the 1970s through contributions of academics based mostly in the United States and Latin America. Some of the most influential among these people were Stephen Gliessman, from the University of California, Santa Cruz; Miguel Altieri ...