Agriculture, Food Systems, and the Environment

Despite extensive environmental impacts such as soil degradation, land use changes, biodiversity loss, water resource depletion, chemical and toxic release, and pollution, environmental law has remained virtually silent about agriculture and food systems. As a result, environmental law’s prescriptive, administrative, and adjudicatory capacities to tackle environmental impacts of agriculture remain underdeveloped. India’s agriculture and food systems continue to tread towards greater environmental damage owing to the combination of passive silences and active protections of the law. This chapter shows that since the 1960 Green Revolution, agricultural development in India idealises ‘success’ based on growth and productivism, technological and input intensity, and the ability to cater to a globalized commodity market. This chapter further explores a blend of interventions within environmental law, agricultural law, and other legal domains, along with a reimagination of agriculture and food systems that may prevent future environmental impacts.