In its study of industrial agriculture, The Ecologist has set out a summary of new initiatives needed:

• A reconsideration of land ownership, and the rights that ownership confers;
• An end to the environmental destruction caused by the adoption of inappropriate, intensive agricultural methods;
• The reduction or abolition of the use of agro-chemicals in agriculture, and their replacement with more natural biological processes for building fertility, and coping with weed, pest and disease problems;
• Legislation to protect animals from abuse; and the promotion of farming systems which take account of animals physiological and behavioural needs;
• Stricter pollution and food safety standards to ensure against contamination of food, water and the general environment by industrial and agricultural chemicals and by genetically-engineered organisms.
• Public access to all information relevant to the safety and environmental impact of farm chemicals, food additives and food processing aids;
• More open and representative structures for decision making, to ensure that environmental, customer, small farm, public health, and alternative agriculture groups have a say in policy development;
• Legislation which enshrines the right of national and regional governments to set their own standards for food quality; allowing them to impose import bans on foods that do not meet those standards, and to protect domestic agriculture against imports of cheap food from abroad;
• Government encouragement for trading patterns that strengthen local markets and foster direct marketing links between farmers and consumers;
• An end to export dumping and other national and international policies which make it difficult for countries in the South to develop their own policies for self-reliance and sustainable agriculture;
• A more cautious approach towards genetic engineering and other programmes which could result in farmers becoming more dependent on chemicals and multinational companies;
• The switching of research funds away from the industrialised, technical-fix approach, towards more genuinely sustainable options, which are less energy intensive, more environmentally friendly, and which encourage diversity and the production of good quality food.