Sustainable Agrifood Systems

Sustainable agrifood systems aspire to provide nutritious, culturally appropriate, affordable food in a manner that supports environmental integrity, economic vitality, and social justice. Efforts toward sustainable agrifood systems embrace a process of experimentation, assessment, and new knowledge that moves toward greater overall benefits to the environment, local communities, farmers, farmworkers, and consumers than found in the conventional industrial agricultural food system. This entry describes characteristics of sustainable production, distribution, processing, marketing, and consumption of food, noting the emergence of a systems approach. Examples from around the world illustrate the ways alternative practices include processes of adaptation, relationship building, and trade-offs that seek to repair the current system. Visions for a more sustainable agrifood system are sources of creativity for the future.