Retail giant Wal-Mart appears to be getting behind sustainable agricultural practices, which could have a huge impact on farming in the United States. Wal-Mart wants to double sales of locally grown food by 2015, and it wants farmers to be more energy efficient and natural-resource conscious. Company executives say they’re in favor of improving soil quality and conserving water and fossil fuels. The company has also pledged to train one million farmers and farm workers in sustainable farming practices.

 

Farming representatives aren’t sure what to make of Wal-Mart’s more progressive attitude towards the agricultural industry. The American Farm Bureau Federation is concerned that Wal-Mart may not realize the new practices it is calling for will cost farmers more money to grow crops.

 

“I’m not under any illusion that farmers are going to get premiums for these practices,” Russell Williams of the farm bureau told the Des Moines Register. “It’s going to be a cost of doing business. If that’s the case, we’re going to have to focus on how not to destroy farm income.”

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Walmart Wants Iowans to Farm by Its Principles (by Philip Brasher, Des Moines Register)

Walmart Flexes Its Sustainability Muscles (by James Epstein-Reeves, Forbes)