Defining Sustainable Agriculture: New Fora, New Actors and New Debates about Food and Farm Policies

The long promoted modern model of agriculture (i.e. the ‘green revolution’ model, which is intensive in chemical inputs, improved seeds, irrigation and mechanization) is now increasingly under attack. Critics take issue with the negative social and environmental impacts of this system around the globe. The public policies that have been supporting it for decades are also criticized. New debates have thus emerged over what sustainable agriculture should be and how public policies and regulations might encourage it. This paper will analyze the nature and dynamics of these debates. We identify the different public and private fora and arenas where they take place, the actors, their resources (e.g., financial, discursive, analytical, political, institutional) and how they influence the content and direction of debate. Such a comprehensive approach will help us to understand the balances of power and how they may shape the future of food governance.