Questioning the Sustainability Model

I read a couple of provocative stories this week. The first was in Salon.com, based on a new study by Manchester School of Business for the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, that challenged the notion that sustainable organic is indeed better for the environment. The second was in Capital Press, a sort of first-person rant about the word “sustainable” and whether that’s just a fad term imposed on traditional farmers by outsiders or “wanna be” farmers. Both articles seem to push against sustainability, without getting the point, that sustainability is about more than just food production. It’s about, among a laundry list of other things, environmental harmony.