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The book provides theoretical and practical guidelines to use and enhance the potential of forests to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel resources. To understand the interactions linked with such concepts, the book addresses the following topics: forest dynamics and carbon budget; deforestation and afforestation; emerging programs for sustainable development; timber as substitute for high energy materials and fossil fuels; forest responses to climate change and socioeconomic pressures; policy aspects. Apart from the production of timber, forests fulfill numerous additional ecological and social functions. This book has a strong interdisciplinary focus and integrates global aspects with regional and national studies. ... Read more

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This brief, applied book discusses the importance of setting up an agromedicine program: how to start it, how to fund it, and how to develop and sustain a successful one. To date, there is no other book on the market that outlines how administrators in community medicine, land grant universities, rural health programs, and health agencies should go about setting up a successful agromedicine program. ... Read more

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Major complex problems confront agricultural policy analysts and development specialists regarding the broad issue of 'agricultural technology.' These topics are reviewed in this volume which consists of 37 chapters, developed from papers presented at a conference held at Airlie House, Virginia, near Washington DC. The authors include leading international authorities from the academic sector, World Bank and agricultural research centers. The chapters are grouped into six parts. The first introductory part is followed by investment as the focus of Part II. In Part III a variety of conceptual and practical issues involved in the transfer of agricultural technology is considered. Part IV includes discussions of concrete technical matters ranging for example from the general to the specific, from plant to animal, and from soil management to irrigation engineering. Emphasis moves from the specifically technological to wider policy issues in Part V and this latter thrust is carried through into the final summarizing section. ... Read more

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The outstanding points of this book are: 1) it is the firstbook focused on transplant production in closed systems, 2) many ofthe authors are acknowledged as the experts in their designatedresearch area, and 3) the book covers both biological and engineeringaspects of transplant production, and therefore, 4) it represents anintegration of state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary technologies andknowledge. A book entitled Plant Production in Closed Ecosystemspublished in 1997 covers similar topics, but Transplant Productionin the 21st Century uniquely focuses on providing updatedinformation and new concepts for a closed system that is suitable fortransplant production in the 21st Century. It includes additionalinformation related to biotechnology/micropropagation andmicro-environmental analysis/control. Transplant Production in the21st Century will be an important publication for the field ofhorticulture, agriculture and forestry, for researchers and engineersin biotechnology, greenhouse technology, information technology, andenvironmental control. ... Read more

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Panax Ginseng has been commonly used in indigenous medicine in the Far East for over 5,000 years.Its man-like appearance ensured that it was quickly accepted as a tonic maintaining the body in good health, inducing rejuvenation and retarding ageing.The vast output of modern research suggests uses for this ancient drug in today's medicine.
This volume endeavours to present a well referenced review of many aspects of ginseng literature including history, botany, horticulture, tissue culture, chemistry, pharmacology, therapeutics, side effects, quality control, patents and related or substituted species. ... Read more

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Agricultural Economics, Third Edition, offers a broad view of the food system, emphasizing the links between and among financial institutions, the macro economy, world markets, government programs, farms, agribusinesses, food marketing, and the environment. The text lays out the basic theory of microeconomics with numerous examples from the food and agricultural industries, while its coverage of macroeconomics emphasizes real world applications rather than pure theory. Addressing many topics lightly instead of one or two topics in depth, the text allows flexibility for instructors to "skip around" topics.  ... Read more

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Covering 1800 species of Chinese herbs and 700 related North American species, Chinese and Related North American Herbs: Phytopharmacology and Therapeutic Values provides clearly formatted tables that give you quick and easy access to information gathered from a wide variety of sources, both eastern and western, including those not generally available through usual searches. Written by the author of Medicinal Plants this book: · Presents the major constituents and therapeutic values of Chinese medicinal herbs · Contains data on toxicity, major chemical components and their therapeutic values · Provides Latin, Chinese, and English names for more than 1800 species · Includes three appendices that provide handy cross-references: Chinese and scientific names; major chemical components of Chinese herbs, and major chemical components of related North American herbs· Highlights the relationship between Chinese and North American medicinal herbs and possible replacements for Chinese with North American herbs· Compares active ingredients and claimed therapeutic values The wealth of information, attention to detail, and extensive research and references presented by Chinese and Related North America Herb: Phytopharmacology and Therapeutic Values makes it the resource to have on your shelf. ... Read more

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* Reveals how bringing food production to a local level revitalizes rural economies in both the industrialized and developing world
* Published in association with the International Society for Ecology and Culture
* For readers concerned with agriculture, community development, environmental sustainability, and ecological economics

If the many social, environmental, and economic crises facing the planet are to be reversed, local food economies must be rebuilt. Given the constant demand for food, even miniscule changes in its production and marketing can offer immense benefits for farmers, consumers, the economy and the environment.

Bringing the Food Economy Home reveals how a shift towards the local would protect and rebuild agricultural diversity by giving farmers a larger share of the money spent on food, and providing consumers with healthier, fresher food at more affordable prices. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

From local to global to local
Calculating the true cost of getting your family'stypical dinner on the table would reveal ashocking price! In addition to produce cost itself, you would have to include the delivery charges for each meal component: from the producer via long distance shipping, packaging, storage, and distribution to you via your local supermarket.The authors suggest that product travel distance in reaching our table should be calculated in 'food miles'.The further the distance - the higher the price .At least that's what it should logically be.

However, as consumers, most of us rarely pay the full cost of any food item.If we did, we would appreciate more readily how the global food system has turned food production on its head.Thus claim the authors of this concise and illuminating analysis of globalization of the agribusiness and its impacts on our well-being.While this slim volume might appear otherwise, the study is packed with useful information and concrete data. It explains why we are facing major problems in the food economy around the world.In developing and industrialized countries farmers are abandoning their land to large-scale cash-crop agribusiness or big corporations.The push for crop monocultures is contributing to land degradation and is skewing food supplies. The authors demystify the notion that a globalizedfood system is more efficient and economic and question the logic of its processes.For example, in recent years the UK has been importing about as much milk as it has exported!The only beneficiaries of this artificial trade balance, they argue, are the transport businesses and the financial speculators.As tax payers we subsidize the transportation business by allowing governments to subsidize the development of big agriculture to the detriment of local farmers everywhere. The authors encourage the reader to examine these issues and outline what we can do as consumers and citizens, to reverse current trends.Examples and case studies are interleafed with tables and statistics illustrating the underlying argument of the authors: to restore local food production and closely link it to the consumer.

In this well-structured and easily followed study, the authors examine global food issues from all possible angles: food and health, food and economy, food and community; food and marketing ecologies and (local) food security.In addition, the authors expose the serious environmental impacts of large-scale monoculture farming and the unnecessary transport of food shipped across the globe or from one end of the country to the other (in the US).For example, US cookies are exported to Denmark while Danish cookies are exported to the US!Why not, the authors argue, just swap recipes at minimal cost?

In each chapter the implications of globalizing the food sector are summarized, critiqued and contrasted with working alternatives.For example. initiatives of community-based agriculture or consumer-coops are introduced that are springing up in many countries.While food production and trade in the developing world are not addressed as the primary focus of the analysis, the consistent negative impacts of a globalized food system on the populations in the South have provided the authors with strong arguments for local diversity in food security systems.Norberg-Hodge, in particular, has a long track record of researching the impact of international development policies on traditional functioning rural communities in the South.

The intended audiences of this book are clearly the consumers and citizens in the industrialized countries. The examples given are highlighting the situation in the US and UK. Yet, they also present interesting insights into other countries' situations.The authors' conclusion is that the food economy needs to be shifted from its current global level to the local wherever possible. This does not mean, they contend, that all food trade should stop or the consumer should no longer be able to buy exotic foods from far away. Instead, they argue, the priority has to be that people produce staple food locally wherever possible.Food should be imported only where the local resources cannot fulfill the demand of the population.Local produce is usually healthier, fresher and can be more appropriate for the local diet and culture.It is also much cheaper if transport, packaging and storage costs for long distance travel are to be included in the true price of food.

This a book to absorb and not just to read once.It calls for action by everyone and is a toolkit for all those seriously engaged in educating people of all ages in health, environmentand all food issues.A resource guide is added for further study and action.[Friederike Knabe, Ottawa Canada] ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

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Medicinal Plants: Culture, Utilization and Phytopharmacology covers over 400 species. Each chapter gathers valuable information from a wide variety of sources, and supplies it to the user in convenient table format, arranged alphabetically by scientific name, followed by the common name. Data topics include: major constituents (active ingredients) and medicinal values of plants; toxicity or hazardous components; essential oils; value-added products and possible uses; cultivation and harvesting; diseases and insects found in medicinal plants. Three appendices (alphabetical listing of plants by common name, followed by the scientific name; essential oils and their derivation; active ingredients and their sources) provide handy cross-references to the Tables. ... Read more

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Title: Hearing on Alternative Agriculture and Rural Economic Development : Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Small Business, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First SessionJuly 14, 1993Publisher: Washington : U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales OfficePublication date: 1993Subjects: Alternative agriculture -- Economic aspects United StatesRural development -- United StatesNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for our children. This discipline addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, starvation, obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. Novel solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, philosophy and social sciences. As actual society issues are now intertwined, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series analyzes current agricultural issues, and proposes alternative solutions, consequently helping all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians wishing to build safe agriculture, energy and food systems for future generations. ... Read more

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The Alternatives to Slash and Burn (ASB) consortium was formed in 1992 by a group of concerned national and international research institutions to address the global and local issues associated with this form of agriculture. With contributions from scientists, economists, ecologists, and anthropologists, this book synthesizes the first decade of ASB's work. It assesses the environmental, economic, and social impact of deforestation and the needs of small-scale farmers who rely on slash-and-burn agriculture for their livelihood.

Customer Reviews (1)

The little landholders that could
As of 2005, one-half of the world's forests have been cut down. Slowing deforestation's a worldwide concern. Agonizing over what Virginia Tech calls the wildland-urban interface isn't an easily solved problem. Solutions affect the well-being of individuals, nations, nature, and the world. For cutting down forests clears lands of homes for animals, birds, bugs, and plants. It clears lands of necessary carbon and organic material. It clears the way for greenhouse gases.

Small landholders are usually blamed for clearing forests, because of overworked soils and their families' needing extra money and more food. The book's about the tropics in general and Brazil, Cameroon, Indonesia, Peru, and Thailand in particular. It finds, except for Cameroon, most deforestation's done by large landholders and migrants. Large landholders are always clearing forests, for more large-scale cattle ranching, commercial logging, and export farming. Successful land use draws migrants. Migrants clear forests, because colonists, large landholders, settlers, and squatters fill the available space.

So forests are cut down, because deforestation's profitable, and there's no obviously workable choice. Not much can be done about large landholders. How they use their lands is linked to the world market. They export their cash crops, cattle ranching products, timber, and wood products. So how they use their lands makes their countries part of the world market community of trade, technology, money, and credit.

But small landholders use their lands to support their families and sell to local markets. How can they do otherwise than grow garden vegetables and food crops? They're trapped by high transportation costs and poor transportation means. They work soils low in nitrogen and phosphorous but high in aluminum. They can't afford lime treatments; fertilizers; and engineered, instead of local, seedlings. Local market prices tend to be low. So when they need more money, they try off-farm work and illegal logging.

SLASH-AND-BURN AGRICULTURE suggests another money-maker. Why not pay small landholders not to clear forests? But tropical countries can't pay for that or for making sure forests won't be cleared. They need any extra money to be spent on better roads, job opportunities, housing, health and education. So why not get the money from the world market community? The entire world benefits from slowed-down deforestation.

Editors Cheryl A Palm et al organize the book well. The chapters give clear examples, facts, illustrations, and references, along with some guesses and suggestions. The writing gets a bit academic. But the contributing writers still bring us up to speed on how, what, when, where, who, and why of slash-and-burn deforestation. ... Read more

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In large parts of the developed and developing worlds soil tillage by plough or hoe is the main cause of land degradation leading to stagnating or even declining production levels and increasing production cost. It causes the soil to become more dense and compacted, the organic matter content to be reduced and water runoff and soil erosion to increase. It also leads to droughts becoming more severe and the soil becoming less fertile and less responsive to fertiliser.

This book brings together the key notes lectures and other outstanding contributions of the I World Congress on Conservation Agriculture and provides an updated view of the environment and economic advantages of CA and of its implementation in diferent areas of the World.

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More than two billion people worldwide have currently no access to grid electricity or other efficient energy supply. This is one third of humanity and the majority live in rural areas. The productivity and health of these people are diminished by reliance on traditional fuels and technologies, with women and children suffering most. Energy is the key element to empower people and ensure water, food and fodder supply as well as rural development. Therefore access to energy should be treated as the fundamental right to everybody. Renewable energy has the potential to bring power, not only in the literal sense, to communities by transforming their prospects.

This book offers options that meet the needs of people and communities for energy and engage them in identifying and planning their own provision. It describes updated renewable energy technologies and offers strategies and guidelines for the planning and implementation of sustainable energy supply for individuals and communities. ... Read more

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John Madeley offers a new approach to agricultural production and feeding the hungry. He outlines a low-external input approach, along with a re-integration of new farming practices like organic agriculture and permaculture, and a range of “green” technologies which would eventually make world agriculture a viable livelihood for farmers, providing enough food for the hungry, and safe and good-tasting for the rest of us—all without harming the environment.
... Read more

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Forages represent the most important, cost effectivefeed resource in ruminant nutrition.However, therelatively low quality of forages militates againsttheir use as the sole feed for actively growing orhigh-performing ruminants.Several methods havebeen used to improve forage quality, and thereforeanimal performance, by chemical or biologicaltreatments.Fibrolytic enzyme application is one ofthe most studied biological treatments for improvingforage quality and animal performance.Such enzymeshave been effective at improving the utilization ofa wide range of diets containing roughages due toimproved fiber hydrolysis which often results inincreased digestibility, voluntary intake and animalperformance. However, results of enzymeeffectiveness still been controversial. There areseveral factors that contribute to this controversy,and all these factors are discussed in this book,and it elucidates if these products are reallyeffective for improving forage quality and animalperformance. ... Read more