On the other hand, huge genetic engineering firms are claiming to have the key to sustainable agriculture. Many environmental groups fight their efforts to introduce genetically modified organisms into farming. We believe that industrial ecology has the breadth required for modeling the transition to sustainable food and fiber production. IE provides an excellent context for evaluting partial solutions, such as genetic engineering, in terms of their potential contributions and risks for the whole food and fiber system. Industrial ecologists appreciate the valuable contributions of reductionist sciences, however, we insist that a systems view is necessary to understand the appropriate application of such innovations.
Industrial ecologists can benefit directly from research in sustainable agriculture.
Organic farming offers powerful insight into the nature of business systems guided by ecological principles and dynamics. We can learn to use IE's ecological metaphor with much greater depth by studying the practice of organic farmers and the research in agroecology. This is an important area that mainstream industrial ecology, has neglected. Meeting global needs for food and fiber is a complex challenge Populations are still growing, steeply in many regions. As countries develop, more people are eating higher on the food chain This increased demand for meat means more grain and land supports production of animals, cutting net efficiency of food production.