A horticulturalist consults with organic farmer Phil Foster (left) on his organic farm in San Juan Bautista, California, a state that accounts for 20 percent of U.S. organic farming operations. In 2006, less than 1 percent of all farms within the United States were organic.

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service/Scott Bauer

As Homo sapiens are biological beings who depend upon plants and animals for sustenance, how humans procure calories becomes an issue of central concern when discussing contemporary issues of sustainability. This becomes more evident given that humans currently appropriate approximately 40 percent of the global net primary productivity of the biomass energy photosynthesized and produced by various planetary systems. Agriculture, or the growth, transport, and distribution of food items that humans consume ...

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