During the next decades, humanity faces some of the greatest challenges in its entire history: facing a climate crisis that has already begun to manifest its effects and feeding a growing population on a planet of finite resources are two of the biggest challenges.
In this context, the debate on which is the best formula to feed the world, to supply it with energy or, ultimately, to survive, gives rise to highly polarized opinions and is difficult to answer, since the variables that come into play are many and intermingled Among them: we cannot separate economic issues from environmental factors, or health issues from social issues.
To provide contrasted information to the debate, the Spanish Society of Ecological Agriculture has just published a report in which it echoes some of the evidence accumulated in the scientific literature in recent years and to which dozens of entities around the world have already adhered academic, business and social. We compile here some of the conclusions of the report, which can be read in full here.
1. Organic farming is respectful of the environment
One of the most obvious advantages of organic farming is its lower impact on the environment. Some of these effects include the non-generation of polluting residues , less degradation of ecosystems, the storage of carbon in the soil, the maintenance of greater biodiversity, the retention of water, the recycling of nutrients, the biological control of pests. and less soil erosion.
2. Contributes to mitigating climate change
Various studies indicate that, with proper management, organic farming contributes to storing carbon in the soil and mitigating climate change. A study published in 2010 in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems calculated that the potential for reducing emissions from the elimination of synthetic mineral fertilizers is approximately 20% and the potential for compensation for carbon sequestration is approximately 20%. 40-72% of current annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
3. Boost biodiversity
Organic farming contributes to enhancing some ecosystem services. For example, it maintains the landscape, pollinators, and increases species richness.
4. Improves water quality
In organic farming there is less nitrate leaching. This is due to several causes: less fertilizers are used, there are more ground cover crops, a higher carbon / nitrogen ratio in the soils and a lower crop density per hectare. The authors of the report highlight that, in some vulnerable areas due to the risk of water contamination, the administrations are recommending the conversion to organic farming.
5. Organic food is safe
Various studies show that the consumption of food from organic farming does not present a greater chance of contracting diseases associated with various pathogens nor does it pose a microbiological risk to health.
6. Organic food has a lower risk of contamination by pesticides
The organic diet implies zero or less ingestion of polluting residues from pesticides than foods that come from conventional agriculture. Children fed organic products have significantly lower levels of organophosphate pesticides in their urine metabolites, according to two papers published in the journal Environmental health perspectives in 2006 and 2016.
7. Organic farming can feed the world
We produce almost twice the food needed to feed the world’s population , but some 800 million people go hungry, and because of this many experts argue that the problem of hunger is a matter of poverty, social injustice and inequity, and not of production.
A work published in 2017 in the journal Nature communications and signed by several authors from different institutions considered that organic farming alone is not enough, but that it could feed the world if combined with other actions, such as reducing production of cattle and the consumption of their meat , as well as reducing food waste.
8. Contributes to food security
Various studies that take into account a multitude of economic, environmental and social variables conclude that organic farming is a potentially important option for food security in the population of rural areas, especially in a context of climate change, since, among other reasons , offers a greater resilience capacity against environmental changes.
9. Organic food is not more expensive
Although the final price of organic food is higher than that of conventional agriculture, this is because said price does not take into account a series of extra costs of the latter: loss of terrestrial biodiversity, GHG emissions, soils degraded and overexploitation of aquifers, among others.
“And these impacts, in the end, must be paid by citizens out of pocket through taxes, health insurance or, for example, subsidies to the agricultural and livestock sector, ” reflects the report, which also echoes another study carried out by the Ministry of Ecology , Sustainable Development and French Energy. This revealed the additional expenses generated by contamination by pesticides and nitrogen fertilizers from conventional agriculture in the water courses: between about 1,005 and 1,525 million euros, of which between 640 and 1,140 million euros were included in the bills. of the water of the citizens.
10. More investment is needed in research and experimentation in organic farming
Several authors have carried out analyzes that show with numbers how aid to research in organic farming has been significantly lower compared to other areas of research, something that makes it difficult to advance and explore new formulas and methods.
An article published in The Guardian at the beginning of 2019 warned that in some US states that live off intensive agriculture and where there are large lobbies in this matter, organic farming research institutes barely have funds to research or, in In some extreme cases, they have had to close their doors due to lack of funding.
