Many consider sustainable farming a boutique industry, unable to compete with conventional farming and produce enough food to supply populations outside their local communities. And that pesticides and modern food processing technology is the only way to meet the world's demand for food.

But Mark Bittman, New York Times contributor and author of The Food Matters Cookbook, claims advances in sustainable farming now make it a viable solution to world hunger. He also points out that today's industrial farming practices aren't the savior they appear, citing record highs in the global food price index. And that conventional farming takes too heavy a toll on the environment.