Organic farming could be worse for the climate than conventional farming methods, one of the government’s scientific advisers has said, because of the greater land use required and the methods used.
Lord Krebs, who advises ministers on how to adapt to climate change, told the Oxford Farming Conference that organic farming did not necessarily mean more environmentally friendly farming.
Instead, he suggested, agricultural methods known as “no-till” – which usually involves the use of genetically modified crops or biotechnology, with herbicides to kill the weeds that tilling normally prevents – were better for the climate as they reduce the turnover of soils, a process that releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Helen Browning, the chief executive of the Soil Association, which promotes organic farming and produce, said she was “bemused by the hostility” of Krebs towards organic methods.
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With regard to soils, she added: “Organic techniques have a great deal to offer in building organic matter in soils and improving efficiency of fertiliser use. When the increasing use of non-renewable inputs [in the form of fertilisers, such as phosphates] is considered, non-organic farming is significantly less productive than organic, and the productivity of non-organic [farming] is falling because conventional farming is using more and more fertiliser inputs simply to keep yields level.”
The world’s soils are a major source of atmospheric carbon. So, too, is nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is the byproduct of adding artificial nitrogen fertilisers to soils.
Read full, original article: Organic farming not always best for environment, says government adviser
