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Sustainability Issues | ||
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"Sustainability is a condition of existence which enables the present generation of humans and other species to enjoy social wellbeing, a vibrant economy, and a healthy environment, and to experience fulfillment, beauty and joy, without compromising the ability of future generations of humans and other species to enjoy the same."
Guy Dauncey Sustainable Development "Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The World Commission on Environment and Development.
Sustainable agriculture... "Sustainable Agriculture ...is a system that can evolve indefinitely toward greater human utility, greater efficiency of resource use and a balance with the environment which is which is favourable to humans and most other species." Harwood.
Cattle in a field near St Andrews in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland in early spring. Image copyright Sandy Riach Sustainable Food Supply Chain
Over the last fifty years, there have been dramatic changes in the food production and supply chain in the UK. The most striking changes have been:
* Globalisation of the food industry, with an increase in food trade (imports and exports) and wider sourcing of food within the UK and overseas;
* Concentration of the food supply base into fewer, larger suppliers, partly to meet demand for bulk year-round supply of uniform produce; * Major changes in delivery patterns with most goods now routed through supermarket regional distribution centres, and a trend towards use of larger Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs); * Centralisation and concentration of sales in supermarkets, with a switch from frequent food shopping (on foot) at small local shops to weekly shopping by car at large out of town supermarkets. These trends have led to a large increase in the distance food travels from the farm to consumer, known as “food miles”. Indeed, since 1978, the annual amount of food moved in the UK by HGVs has increased by 23%, and the average distance for each trip has increased by over 50%.
From 'The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development' DEFRA
 Two young Berkshire rare breed pigs ranging free in woodland at Cameron, Fife, Scotland. Image copyright Dan Riach "We must learn what sustainability means in practice if we are to apply it to our daily lives and restore the health and vitality of our planet".
Sir David Attenborough Sustainable Water Resources
Sustainable water resource systems will be able to satisfy the changing demands that will inevitably be placed on them, without significant system degradation. Rainwater Harvesting Systems have an important role to play in water resources management.
Environmental considerations for sustainable water use include
• the impact of water abstraction on rivers and streams • quality of effluent • nutrients and elements in sludge going to soil • wildlife habitats affected by our activities • use of mineral resources. "Water is the principal resource that has helped agriculture and society to prosper, and it has been a major limiting factor when mismanaged."
Gail Feenstra Sustainable Energy
Renewables are energy forms which are essentially inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuel sources, which are finite. Renewable energy sources include wind (onshore and offshore), wave, tidal, biomass, solar, and geothermal. The European Commission has adopted a target that 12% of total energy consumption should come from renewable sources by 2010, and policies exist across all Member States to help achieve this target.
The Scottish Executive In Europe the total energy requirement currently met by the use of fuelwood is low, at 1.2%, though in Austria, Finland and Sweden, wood energy provides about 12% to 18% of the total primary energy supply.
World Energy Council  Fife agricultural landscape at Northbank Farm, Cameron, by St Andrews, Scotland. Image copyright Sandy Riach.
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