The 2011 report of the Government Office for Science on Foresight: The Future of Food and Farming has recommended Sustainable Intensification as the way forward for food production in order to meet the challenges of global food demands and climate change. However, some, including the UN Conferences on Trade and Development, feel that sustainable intensification will propagate the type of farming that relies on costly, polluting and non-renewable external inputs. Instead the way forward might be a flexible approach of regenerative agricultural systems that continuously recreate the resources they use as well as achieving higher productivity and profitability of the system (not necessarily of individual products) with minimal external inputs.
Jonathon Porritt, Co-Founder of Forum for the Future, is an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. He was formerly Director of Friends of the Earth, co-chair of the Green Party (of which he is still a member), chairman of UNED-UK and of Sustainability South West, was the first Chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, a post he held for nine years.
John Atkin is Chief Operating Officer of Syngenta and was previously Chief Operating Officer (Crop Protection) from Syngentas foundation until February 2011. Before joining Syngenta, he was CEO, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Product Portfolio Management of Novartis Crop Protection. Prior to 1998, he was General Manager of Sandoz Agro France and Head of Sandoz Agro Northern Europe.
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