For aquaculture to continue to take up the slack caused by the decline of capture fisheries, and to do so

without
harming wild fish populations and aquatic and coastal marine habitats, it must change. Much in the
same way that
agroecosystems must be made to function on the basis of ecological principles, aquaculture systems
must be designed to
mplement and work in concert with surrounding natural ecosystems. Many examples of sustainable
aquaculture sys-
tems already exist. Basic strategies include focusing more on filter-feeding species and those than can
eat algae, limiting
the scale and geographic extent of fish farms, raising fish and crustaceans at lower densities, and
integrating aquaculture
with terrestrial and wetland agroecosystems (Figure 19.13).

FIGURE 19.13 An aquaculture pond for raising tilapia in Nacajuca, Tabasco, Mexico. In this area of
high rainfall and a high
water table, aquaculture is an excellent option of producing large quantities of protein, while at the
same time providing a good source
of income for local smallholder farmers. Crops are grown on the adjacent platforms built up during the
construction of the ponds. This
is a good example of sustainable aquaculture,

who produced their food and the animals from which much
of it came. Today, with livestock animals sequestered into
CAFOs, fed with grains produced half a continent away,
and their carcasses, eggs, and milk transported hundreds
and thousands of miles to market, it's not surprising that the
typical consumer gives no thought to what it took to get the
steak to his or her table.
As we have seen elsewhere in this book, specialization
"agriculture is ill designed to meet the multiple needs
of society for abundant, healthy food, produced in eco-
gically sound ways that provide sustainable livelihoods.
cintegration of livestock and crops helps reverse the
wend toward specialization and economic concentration in
mure, pointing the way toward more local food dis-
lion networks, viability for smaller-scale, family-run
ns, and more self-contained, closed-loop agroecosystems
that don't rely so strongly on purchased inputs.
eintegrating livestock and crop production really strikes
at the heart of
ne heart of what's not sustainable in conventional agricul-
ture. For this reason, supporting the integration of
and crops-in the marketplace, at research instit
public policy arena-can go a long way toward make
mg change happen. Such advocacy underlines
in the public por
 integration while increasing awareness of the huge social
and environmental costs of specialization and concentration.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
1. What changes would consumers need to make in
their diets in order to promote the reintegration of
animals into farming systems?
2. Can vegetarianism and integrated livestock-crop
production systems be combined?
3. What are some of the primary indicators of sustain-
ability most appropriate for the analysis of inte-
grated farming systems?
4. How can we reconcile production needs with the
ethical treatment of animals?
INTERNET RESOURCES
American Forage and Grassland Council
www.afge.org
American Grassfed Association
www.americangrassfed.org