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What the hell does “sustainable” even mean?
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/15/what_the_hell_does_sustainable_even_mean/We need to define our buzzwords better, author Douglas Gayeton tells Salon
What the hell does sustainable even mean?
Lindsay Abrams
Sunday, Jun 15, 2014 10:58 AM UTC
And not just define, but really define explain not just what they mean, but how theyre implemented, and why theyre important to reforming our food system?
Its harder than most people realize, says artist and author Douglas Gayeton. These buzzwords are the shorthand by which we talk about new, better ways to grow and eat food, but often theyre just that buzzwords, lacking the context needed to be useful. And thats before we get into things like integrated pest management, riparian buffers, demeter certification, biodynamics and permaculture.
The title of Gayetons new book, he admits, is a bit of a buzzword itself. Local: The New Face of Food and Farming in America uses photo collages, profiles of people at the forefront of the food movement, and lots and lots of definitions to begin to unpack these concepts. Its borne from a larger online project hes undertaken with his wife, Laura Howard, called the Lexicon of Sustainability.
Understanding exactly what it is were talking about, they argue, is integral to getting people to take an active role in what they buy and what they eat. And that, Gayeton told Salon, is the best way to bring about reform.
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What the hell does “sustainable” even mean? (Original Post)
unhappycamper
Jun 2014
OP
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)1. Is this really that hard a concept?
"Sustainable" means done in a way that does not use up needed resources faster than they can be replenished, done in a way that can continue, in theory, indefinitely.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)3. The Salon article does a very poor job of explaining any issue about the term "sustainability"
Perhaps his book elaborates, but in this interview he wasn't pressed on the point. I'm with you in not seeing it as a hard concept.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)2. I think he has a point. It's complicated.
And sustainable pretty much requires a lot of local too.