The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet those of the future." Within this general concept, there has been a great deal of postulation, analysis, and prescription about particular interpretations of sustainable agriculture. For some, sustainable agriculture is about field-level cropping practices; for others, it is an issue of national or global proportions relating to environmental health or food security. The author identifies and briefly reviews several of the more prevalent interpretations of sustainable agriculture. He begins by demonstrating differences in approaches that are attributable to what is meant by 'agriculture,' to the spatial scale considered, and the concept of adopted sustainability. Five prominent paradigms in the field of sustainable agriculture are highlighted: biodiverse farming, agroforestry, forest restoration, food sufficiency, and social equity.