Social Justice Commons^™

The Social Dimensions Of Sustainability And Change In Diversified Farming Systems, Christopher M. Bacon, Christy Getz, Sibella Kraus, Maywa Montenegro, Kaelin Holland

Environmental Studies and Sciences

Agricultural systems are embedded in wider social-ecological processes that must be considered in any complete discussion of sustainable agriculture. Just as climatic profiles will influence the future viability of crops, institutions, i.e., governance agreements, rural household and community norms, local associations, markets, and agricultural ministries, to name but a few, create the conditions that foster sustainable food systems. Because discussions of agricultural sustainability often overlook the full range of social dimensions, we propose a dual focus on a broad set of criteria, i.e., human health, labor, democratic participation, resiliency, biological and cultural diversity, equity, and ethics, to assess social outcomes, …