Seminar 1 – March 31
Reganold, J. P., & Wachter, J. M. (2016). Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century. Nature Plants, 2(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.221
This paper is one of the most popular review articles on organic agriculture, cited by over 2,000 other researchers. Overall, it breaks down the present scenario and outlook for organic while comparing conventional and organic agriculture across four sustainability metrics: productivity, environmental impact, economic viability, and social well-being. The figures included in the paper and overall scope make it a very useful introductory paper. While nothing included is groundbreaking, it lays a solid foundation for the seminar series.
1. Introduction
● Organic farming produces lower yields compared to conventional farming.
○ Yield differences vary by crop type, location, and management practices.
● That said, number of farms, market share, and research funding geared towards organic production has continued to rise due to the non-yield benefits associated with organic management.
2. Organic Practice and Certification
● As of 2016, there were 283 organic certification organizations operating in 170 countries
● Standards can differ between certifying agency. Some standards are based in science whereas some are based in ideaology
3. Sustainability
● “[A]ny farm, be it organic or conventional, can only be deemed sustainable if it produces adequate amounts of high-quality food, enhances the natural-resource base and environment, is financially viable, and contributes to the wellbeing of farmers and their communities.”
Sustainability Comparison Across Four Areas:
1. Production
a. Yield is 8-25% lower in organic systems on average
b. “[T]he best yielding organically grown crops or crop groups are rice, soybeans, corn and grass-clover, which yield 6 to 11% less than conventional systems; the lowest yielding are fruits and wheat, which yield 28 and 27% less, respectively”
c. Climate change may change these respective yields due to increased average water holding capacity present on organically managed farms
d. No one practice is best suited to every context, though
2. Environmental Impact
a. “[A]ggregate studies have found that organic farming systems consistently have greater soil carbon levels, better soil quality and less soil erosion compared with conventional systems45–51. In addition, organic farms generally have more plant diversity, greater faunal diversity (insects, soil fauna and microbes, birds) and often more habitat and landscape diversity46–55. Most functional groups, such as herbivores, pollinators, predators and producers (plants), are more diverse in organic farming systems”
3. Economic Viability
a. Although organic farms yield less, they are more profitable due to:
■ Premium prices for organic products.
■ Lower input costs over time (e.g., no synthetic fertilizers).
■ Increasing consumer demand for organic goods.
4. Social Well-being
a. Organic agriculture provides social benefits, though research in this area is still emerging.
■ “Guidelines of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) stipulate that organic farmers should be able to support themselves and other workers with fair incomes, while maintaining safe and dignified working conditions”
■ Organic agriculture employs a large amount of manual workers which are exposed to lower quantities of pesticides and other chemical
■ Can lead to increased food security through diversity of production
7. Metrics
● Yield as a metric – need to increase land area under organic; does this counteract other environmental benefits?
○ “Globally, 1.9 billion adults are overweight and of these 600 million are obese83, while 793 million people are undernourished and more than 28% of children under the age of five are stunted due to malnourishment”
■ Its about more than simple yield
● Need to incorporate sustainability metrics in addition to yield
8. Barriers and Policy
9. Beyond Organic
● “Although organic agriculture has an untapped potential role in global food and ecosystem security, no one farming system alone will safely feed the planet. Rather, a blend of organic and other innovative farming systems, including agroforestry, integrated farming, conservation agriculture, mixed crop and livestock, and still undiscovered systems, will be needed for future global food and ecosystem security”
○ Agroforestry
○ Integrated farming
○ Conservation agriculture
○ Mixed crop and livestock
○ Undiscovered systems
10. Conclusion & Future Outlook
● Organic farming has a role in sustainable agriculture but cannot be the sole solution to global food security.
● A blend of organic and other innovative farming practices is needed.
○ This is a complex issue and is not meant to demonize conventional farmers. A mix of the two production strategies with an increased proportion of organic is best practice.
■ Bell curve graph – Dave Meyer has shown before.
● Policy support is crucial to overcoming barriers and scaling sustainable farming systems.