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For many years, the prevailing perception has been that organic farming. . . cannot produce the sort of yields needed to provide food for the world’s population.
While a new report from researchers at the Friends of the Earth admits that crop yields are, on average, currently smaller with organic farming than industrial farming, that doesn’t have to be the case.
The report. . . goes on to argue that crop yields shouldn’t be the only metric by which we should evaluate any given crop’s success.
. . . John Reganold, a professor of soil science and agroecology at Washington State University, said a crop’s yield is just one of four metrics by which it should be considered sustainably productive.
Equally important, he argued, is whether a crop is environmentally safe, economically viable to the farmer and socially responsible — by paying its workers well, for example.
. . . .
When organic farming practices are compared to conventional practices using all four of those metrics, the FOE report argues, the organic practices hold an advantage. . . .
Read full, original post: Organic Farming Could Feed The World, If Only We Would Let It
