Using soil organic matter as her example, Jennifer Scott shows us the sort of background information we need to build a Genuine Progress Index.
Food production is a hot topic.
Beyond the headlines, issues such as drought compensation, pesticide use, and the introduction of genetically modified organisms can be confusing and overwhelming. Yet although everybody eats, a wellinformed and inclusive discussion about what kind of agriculture would be best for society is not happening. The official definitions of progress confuse more with better, costs with gains, borrowing with earnings, and means with ends. To achieve real progress we must learn to distinguish these again. How true this has been of agriculture over the past 50 years.