Organic agriculture is widely accepted to be better for the environment than conventional agriculture, reducing harmful chemical inputs and encouraging biodiversity, and rightly so. As such, the term “organic agriculture” is often used synonymously with “sustainable agriculture.” While organic may appear to be sustainable in its environmental benefits, is organic agriculture truly sustainable for the planet? This paper investigates the sustainability of organic agriculture and the role it should play in developing a sustainable food system for our planet.
Sustainable agriculture encompasses a variety of farming practices; organic is but one of them. The production and sale of organic produce has grown over the past couple of decades and continues to flourish. Public interest in organic agriculture has steadily increased, making organic a potentially influential contributor to our current food production system.
The foundational philosophy behind organic is farming with the earth, aware of the complex connections that make up the ecosystem. As consumer interest and demand for organics increased, it was necessary for governments to develop regulations in order to preserve the integrity of the market and protect the consumers.
Organic increases soil biodiversity in the form of microbial biomass, generating resilience against potential future environmental threats. The reduction of synthetic fertilizers eliminates the need for energy-intensive nitrogen production. Organic farms also involve practices that encourage a greater sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide back into the soil.
Organic farms generate higher gross incomes for farmers, though not without additional labor and financial costs. With improvements in policies that encourage conversion and maintain the integrity of the organic label in a free-market economy, organic agriculture can become as economically viable as conventional farming.
Sustainable agriculture should support the growth of healthy people and a healthy community. Particularly in developing nations, organic has the realized potential for enabling food security, women empowerment, community empowerment, and economic stability.
Implementing agriculture that is continually concerned about being sustainable becomes an ever more important goal because how we produce food will affect our environment, the air we breathe, the society in which we grow, the ways in which we live. Organic agriculture is well on its way to becoming an integral building block in the construction of such a food system, one that is truly sustainable for us and for those to come.
Araya, Hailu, and Sue Edwards. The Tigray experience: A success story in sustainable agriculture. Third World network (TWN), 2006.
Askegaard, Margrethe, Jørgen E. Olesen, and Kristian Kristensen. "Nitrate leaching from organic arable crop rotations: effects of location, manure and catch crop." Soil Use and Management 21.2 (2005): 181-188.
Azadi et al. Organic agriculture and sustainable food production system: Main potentials. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 144 (2011): 92-94.
Badgley et al. Organic agriculture and the global food supply. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 22 (2007): 86-108.
Bell, Michael M. Farming for Us All: Practical Agriculture and the Cultivation of Sustainability. Penn State Press. University Park: 2004.
Blair A, Zahm SH. Agricultural exposures and cancer. Environ Health Perspect 103(suppl 8) 205–208 (1995).
Brussaard, Lijbert, Peter C. De Ruiter, and George G. Brown. "Soil biodiversity for agricultural sustainability." Agriculture, ecosystems & environment 121.3 (2007): 233-244.
Crucefix, David. “Organic Agriculture and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Developing Countries” Natural Resources and Ethical Trade Programme (NRI). June 1998.
Connor, D. J. "Organic agriculture cannot feed the world." Field Crops Research 106.2 (2008): 187.
Delbridge, T.A., Coulter, J.A., King, R.P., Sheaffer, C.C., Wyse, D.L., 2011. Economic performance of long-term organic and conventional cropping systems in Minnesota. Agronomy Journal 103, 1372–1382.
Dipeningen et al. Effects of organic versus conventional management on chemical and biological parameters in agriculture soils. Applied Soil Ecology. 31 (2007): 120-135.
De Ponti, T. et al. The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture. Agricultural Systems. 108 (2012): 1-9.
Feenstra, G. “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” Davis, California: University of California, Sustainable Agriculture. Research and Education Program, (1997)
Hewlett, E., and P. Melchett. "Can organic agriculture feed the world? A review of the research." IFOAM organic world congress. Modena Italy June. 2008.
Jett, David A. "Neurotoxic pesticides and neurologic effects." Neurologic clinics29.3 (2011): 667.
Sierra, Luis, et al. "Factors associated with deregistration among organic farmers in California." Davis, CA: California Institute for Rural Studies (2008).
Kirchmann, Holger, and Lars Bergström. "Do organic farming practices reduce nitrate leaching?." Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 32.7-8 (2001): 997-1028.
Klonsky, Karen, and Catherine Greene. "Widespread Adoption of Organic Agriculture in the US: Are Market-Driven Policies Enough?." presentation at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, July. 2005.
Lai, Rattan. "Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security." Science 304.5677 (2004): 1623-1627.
Leifeld, J. “How sustainable is organic farming?” Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 150 (2012): 121-122.
Mäder, Paul, et al. "Soil fertility and biodiversity in organic farming." Science 296.5573 (2002): 1694-1697.
Mahoney, Olson, Porter, Huggins, and Crookston. Profitability of organic cropping systems in southwestern Minnesota.” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 19(1):35–46, 2004.
Mannion, A.M. Agriculture and environmental change. Temporal and spatial dimensions. Wiley, Sussex. (1995).
McKenzie, S. “Social Sustainability: Towards some definitions.” Hawke Research Institute. Working Paper No. 27. (2004)
Mzoughi, Naoufel. "Farmers adoption of integrated crop protection and organic farming: Do moral and social concerns matter?." Ecological Economics 70.8 (2011): 1536-1545.
National Research Council. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2010.
Pimentel et al. Environment, Energetic and Economics of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems. Bioscience. 55 (2005): 573-582.
Rigby, D; Caceres, D. Organic farming and the sustainability of agricultural systems. Agricultural Systems. 68 (2001): 21-40.
Scofield, A. M. "Organic farming—the origin of the name." Biological Agriculture & Horticulture 4.1 (1986): 1-5.
Soto, Ana M., Kerrie L. Chung, and Carlos Sonnenschein. "The pesticides endosulfan, toxaphene, and dieldrin have estrogenic effects on human estrogen-sensitive cells." Environmental Health Perspectives 102.4 (1994): 380.
Stopes, C., et al. "Nitrate leaching from organic farms and conventional farms following best practice." Soil Use and Management 18.s1 (2002): 256-263.\
Uematsu, H.; Mishra, AK. “Organic farmers or conventional farmers: Where is the money?” Ecological Economics 78 (2012): 55-62
US NOP. http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=ORGANIC_CERTIFICATIO. Accessed online.
Van der Werf, Guido R., et al. "CO2 emissions from forest loss." Nature Geoscience 2.11 (2009): 737-738.
Vasilikiotis, Christos. "Can organic farming “Feed the World”." University of California, Berkeley ESPM-Division of Insect Biology 201 (2000).
Walaga, C; Hauser, M. Achieving household food security through organic agriculture? Lessons from Uganda. Journal fur Entwicklungspolitix. XXI/3 (2005): 65-84.
Wynen, E. “Evaluating the potential contribution of organic agriculture to sustainability goals” FAO Environment and Natural Resources Service. 1998.
Zepeda, Lydia, and David Deal. "Organic and local food consumer behaviour: Alphabet Theory." International Journal of Consumer Studies 33.6 (2009): 697-705.