A number that could change your farm...

Suppose some analyst could come up with a "sustainability rating" for your farm output, similar to an EER or MPG sticker. At the very least, a new level of competition would be generated. I also think - depending on the science/economics behind the number - it would help settle much of the dispute over the virtues of agrarian and industrial agriculture.

Anyway, you can guess where it will show up first.

However, the German environment minister sees doesn't see biofuels as posing the greatest danger to the rainforest. He'd much rather that Germans came to an uncomfortable realization: the big problem concerns the soya that Europe imports as animal feed, and the subsidies that support European farmers. "German farmers are profiting from the logging of the rainforest much more than Brazilians," Gabriel said. He argues that German society must take a hard look at its meat consumption.

From his ministry in Berlin, Gabriel is working to put a sustainability rating on animal feed and other products. That could have serious consequences for companies and consumers that get cheap meat thanks to the deforestation in the rainforest. [More]

It will likely be a long time coming, but I could see this happening, and some wild consequences, not all of which would be bad.