YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE

Sustainable: The new word for the corporate ‘cool kids’

By Gene Hall

Who would not want anything to be sustainable? If it’s not, we’re going to run out of that thing.

The word sustainable, still with no persistent definition, is thrown around corporate boardrooms these days like teenagers talking about the latest video game. Sustainable is a word with far more meaning in marketing that in actual practice.

Here are some things to remember. First, it has to be economically sustainable. Farmers have to earn a living from it or it won’t work. If the Soviet Union proved anything, it’s that, without profit, people starve.

Secondly, every year, modern and efficient conventional agriculture continues to improve practices that anyone would recognize as sustainable. Less water, better soil conservation and pest resistance—just to name a few.

The much maligned GMO technology is very much a part of this, reducing the need for more water, insecticides and fuel. If you want to buy sustainable, I recommend you understand exactly what corporate America means when they use that word.

The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.

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