The Spirit of the Soil

The Spirit of the Soil helped launch agricultural ethics as a field more than 20 years ago. It challenged readers to think deeply about agriculture’s impact on the environment, including the use of pesticides and new biotechnologies, and compared four "worldviews"—productionism, stewardship, economics, and holism—and their different ethical interpretations. This 2nd Edition incorporates recent empirical research in agricultural science, covers the impact of climate change, adds information on alternative food systems (organic farming and locavorism), and augments the author’s increased support for a "systems perspective" when thinking about agriculture and implementing policy.