Organic farming can yield more food than conventional ag, says analysis
In developed countries, organic farming can yield nearly as much food as pesticide-heavy agriculture, and in developing countries can produce up to three times as much chow, says a new analysis of 293 published studies on organic yields. “My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can’t produce enough food through organic agriculture,” says researcher Ivette Perfecto. Let us get this straight: Organic farming is efficient. Organic food doesn’t have poisons on it. Organic fruits and veggies could be more nutritious than conventional ones. So … why doesn’t our system favor organic methods? Says Perfecto, whose work was published in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: “Corporate interest in agriculture and … a lot of influence by the chemical companies and pesticide companies as well as fertilizer companies all have been playing an important role in convincing the public that you need to have these inputs to produce food.” Oh, right. We forgot.
