Alternative Methods of Agriculture is an English translation of a number of parts of ""The Dutch Report on Alternative Agriculture. This book explores not only the relationship between agriculture and the environment, but also the relationship between human beings and society. The book focuses on the role of nature and man in agriculture and environment; the justification of the terms natural and biological; comparisons between alternative agriculture and conventional agriculture; soil fertility; quality of products of alternative agriculture; coping mechanism of alternative agriculture to pests, weeds, diseases and energy problems; economics of alternative systems; and the effect of alternative agriculture on the integration of nature, agriculture and man. The book presents the ideologies that serve as the basis for alternative agriculture, such as A.N.O.G agriculture, biodynamic agriculture, Howard-Balfour agriculture, Lemaire-Boucher agriculture, macrobiotic agriculture, mazdaznan agriculture, organic-biological agriculture, and veganic agriculture. It also explores cultivation methods, including tillage, soil disinfection, fertilizing, composting, soil cover, crop rotation, and multiple cropping.

More and more farmers are adopting a diverse range of alternative practices designed to reduce dependence on synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and antibiotics; cut costs; increase profits; and reduce the adverse environmental consequences of agricultural production. Alternative Agriculture describes the increased use of these new practices and other changes in agriculture since World War II, and examines the role of federal policy in encouraging this evolution, as well as factors that are causing farmers to look for profitable, environmentally safe alternatives. Eleven case studies explore how alternative farming methods have been adoptedâ€"and with what economic resultsâ€"on farms of various sizes from California to Pennsylvania.

Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for our children. This discipline addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, starvation, obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. Novel solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, philosophy and social sciences. As actual society issues are now intertwined, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series analyzes current agricultural issues, and proposes alternative solutions, consequently helping all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians wishing to build safe agriculture, energy and food systems for future generations.