b'SUSTAINABILITY ANDPOLITICS BEHIND ITTHEPolitics undeniably plays a role in discussions about sustainability and in assigning significance to the term.Rebecca Carmeli-PeslakDURING THE Seed Speaksthe narrative positively and ensure that sustainable practices episode The Politics of Sustainability, Brad M. Brinkworth, founding partner andremain the focus.managing director of sermo.farm Inc., and Greg Ruehle, COOBy educating others about the benefits of sustainable of Arva Intelligence, chatted about various aspects of sustain- practices, alignment with corporate and political goals can be ability, including its definition, its politicization and its impactachieved without negatively impacting agricultural practices. on legislation and industry practices. The conversation touchedCollaboration, education, and engagement can guide sustain-on how the term sustainability has become widely used andability conversations in a positive direction.sometimes diluted due to its frequent use. By being proactive and confident in our practices, we can For me, sustainability means making decisions today thatovercome this challenge and keep the focus on genuine sustain-are going to have a positive impact on the future, said Ruehle.ability efforts, finished Brinkworth.Its up to us, particularly in agriculture, to reclaim the termTo balance political influences and maintain genuine and define it according to our practices and values. He empha- sustainability efforts (and the true meaning of the word), sized that sustainability is about making choices that lead to aBrinkworth suggested having members of the agriculture and better future, ideally, without letting politics get in the way ofseed sectors share their knowledge. that. The agricultural community needs to take control of the definition of sustainability and share their knowledge.Both Brinkworth and Ruehle stressed the importance of education, communication, and collaboration to move towards meeting sustainability goals without excessive politicization. They discussed the need for the agricultural and seed sectors to define sustainability on their terms and communicate their efforts effectively.With sustainability becoming such a popular wordespe-cially in politicsthe meaning is getting lost.When sustainability becomes a political tool, it can obscure the real goals and create a polarized environment, shared Brinkworth.The politicization of sustainability can divert attention from genuine sustainability efforts. The goal across the board is to be able continue farming long term and have a healthy environ-ment.We can bridge the gap by helping corporations and policy-makers understand the positive impact of our practices, con-tinued Ruehle. Collaboration and education are key shapeWatch the entire conversation here:youtube.com/watch?v=mB38cfPGfuw38GERMINATION.CANOVEMBER 2023'