Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use.
可持续发展适用于诸如能源，净水，经济增长等几乎所有的方面，因此，要对可持续发展的基本假设或其概念的实施方法提出质疑也变得日益困难。

This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the sole measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.
这在农业方面尤其显著，可持续发展经常被认为是农业进步的唯一标准，而这并没有从历史和文化的角度进行适当的评估。

To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so .medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a predominantly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today.
首先，重要的是认识到农业的本质随着历史的发展已经发生了显著的变化，并且这种变化仍将持续。中世纪北欧的农业为以农业为主导的社会提供了衣食和住所，而当时的人口密度远低于现在。

 It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized.
那是的农业对生物多样性的影响有限，产生的任何污染通常都是地方性的。

In terms of energy use and the nutrients（营养成分）captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.
当时的农业在能源利用以及农产品的营养成分方面是相对低效的。

Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution.
对比一下工业革命开始以后出现的农场化。

Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields.
来自国外的竞争促使农民专业化并且提高产量。

Throughout this period food became cheaper, safe and more reliable.
在这个时期，食品价格下降，安全性和可靠性都有所提高。

However, these changes have also led to habitat（栖息地）loss and to diminishing biodiversity.
但是，这些变化也是导致了栖息地的流失和生物多样性的减少。

What’s more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.
此外，发展中国家队畜产品的需求增长如此迅速，以至于在2050年之前每年需要额外收货3亿吨谷物才能满足该需求。但是城市和工业的发展导致在很多地区农业可利用的水资源越来越少。

All this means that agriculture in the 21stcentury will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th.
所有这些都意味着21世纪的农业将非常不同于20世纪的农业。

This will require radical thinking.
这需要激进的思考方式。

For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are inevitably more sustainable than new ones.
例如，我们需要摒弃传统生产比新型生产注定更有利于可持续发展的方法，而这些方法的核心在于需要在保持生产的同时避免产生更多的破坏。

We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”.
我们同样需要抛弃农业可以“零污染”的观念。

The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.
关键在于放弃相对简单和静态的衡量可持续发展性的方法，而这些方法的核心在于需要在保持生产的同时避免产生更多的破坏。

Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons（正反两方面）of all the various way land is used.
取而代之的是更加动态的解释，可以兼顾到种种土地使用方式的正反两面。

There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity.
除了粮食产量以外，还有很多不同的方式可以衡量农业的效益；能源利用，环境成本，水源纯净程度，碳排放和生物多样性。

It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting.
例如，显然把番茄从西班牙运到英国的碳排放量要少于在英国用额外的供暖和照明设备种植番茄。

But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.
但是我们不知道降低碳排放量是否总是对生物多样性是有益的。

What is crucial is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.
关键是要意识到农业可持续的发展并不仅仅是关于可持续的食物生产。