This publication is to be intended as a talk on the concept of sustainability, first by exploring the meaning of the word as it was introduced and then by retracing some key facets that it has gradually assumed over last few years. Apart from reporting on the wide debate the term ‘sustainability' has been central to, the present publication collects some interesting applications of the concept in the framework of agriculture and food production, particularly in light of the main challenges we will have to face in the near future: worldwide trends pushing towards an increased food production in against an alarming reduction of available environmental resources.