b'SustainabilityDURING THESeed Speaks episode, The Politics of Sustainability, Brad M. Brinkworth, founding partner and managing director of sermo.farm Inc., and Greg Ruehle, COO of Arva Intelligence, chatted about various aspects of sustain-and The Politicsability, including its definition, its politicization and its impact on legislation and industry practices. The conversation touched on how the term sustainability has become widely used and some-times diluted due to its frequent use.For me, sustainability means making decisions today that Behind It are going to have a positive impact on the future, said Ruehle. Its up to us, particularly in agriculture, to reclaim the term and define it according to our practices and values. He emphasized that sustainability is about making choices that lead to a better future, ideally, without letting politics get in the way of that. The Politics is certainly involved in the topicagricultural community needs to take control of the definition of of sustainability and creating meaningsustainability and share their knowledge.behind the word. Rebecca Carmeli-Peslak 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 word especially in politics, the 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 WHEREable continue farming long term and have a healthy environment.ON THE WEB We can bridge the gap by helping corporations and policy-makers understand the positive impact of our practices, con-Watch the entire conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB38cfPGfuw tinued Ruehle. Collaboration and education are key shape the narrative positively and ensure that sustainable practices remain the focus.By educating others about the benefits of sustainable practices, alignment with corporate and political goals can be achieved without negatively impacting agricultural practices. Collaboration, education, and engagement can guide sustain-ability conversations in a positive direction.By being proactive and confident in our practices, we can overcome this challenge and keep the focus on genuine sustain-ability efforts, finished Brinkworth.To balance political influences and maintain genuine sustain-ability efforts (and the true meaning of the word), Brinkworth suggested having members of the agriculture and seed sectors share their knowledge.SWOCTOBER 2023SEEDWORLD.COM /53'