Editing Sustainable agriculture (section)

== Definition ==
{{Agriculture|related}}The term "sustainable agriculture" was defined in 1977 by the [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]] as an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:<ref name="NARETPA">{{cite web |date=13 November 2002 |title=National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 |url=https://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource/nar77.pdf |publisher=US Department of Agriculture}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> 
* satisfy human food and fiber needs
* enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agriculture economy depends
* make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
* sustain the economic viability of farm operations
* enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.
Yet the idea of having a sustainable relationship with the land has been prevalent in indigenous communities for centuries before the term was formally added to the lexicon.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pilgeram |first=Ryanne |date=February 2013 |title=The Political and Economic Consequences of Defining Sustainable Agriculture in the US |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12015 |journal=Sociology Compass |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=123–134 |doi=10.1111/soc4.12015 |issn=1751-9020}}</ref>