Agricultural development is part of the entire complex issue of sustainable development. But, back to being a Cassandra, the evidence is overwhelmingly not in favor of agriculture having a neutral or positive impact on the environment. There is a dimension of agriculture that would cause anybody to pause. On the positive side of the coin, there is pretty good evidence showing that in Europe, soils are in much better shape today than they were 150 to 200 years ago, probably because of the right balance of careful management and policy instruments. There need not be the doom and gloom scenario.
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