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Review
. 1999 May 25;96(11):5960-7.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.96.11.5960.

The transition to agricultural sustainability

V W Ruttan  1
Affiliations
Review

The transition to agricultural sustainability

V W Ruttan. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

The transition to sustainable growth in agricultural production during the 21st century will take place within the context of a transition to a stable population and a possible transition to a stable level of material consumption. If the world fails to successfully navigate a transition to sustainable growth in agricultural production, the failure will be due more to a failure in the area of institutional innovation than to resource and environmental constraints.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Archetypal scenarios with illustrative patterns of change. The scenario structure shows sketches of behavior over time for six descriptive variables: population growth, economic scale, environmental quality, socioeconomic equity, technological change, and degree of social and geopolitical conflict. The curves are intended as rough illustrations of the possible patterns of change only. Figure is courtesy of the Stockholm Environment Institute.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Research Council. A Common Journey: Toward a Sustainability Transition. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1999. , in press.
    1. Hammond A. Which World? Scenarios for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: Island; 1998.
    1. Raskin P, Gallopin G, Gutman P, Hammond A, Swart R. Bending the Curve: Toward Global Sustainability. Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute; 1998.
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    1. Ruttan V W. Ecol Econ. 1994a;12:209–219.

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