Thursday, June 26, 2008

Great Organic Myths Rebutted

Organic FarmingWith all the media buzz lately about organic food really being the best choice for your dinner plate, many "facts" arise about organics. But what exactly are the real facts? This article from The Independent focuses on seven facts about organics of which most people are unaware.

Great Organic Myths Rebutted

Fact one: Organic farming is good for the environment

Organic farming is not perfect; it was only developed 60 years ago, and we still have much to learn. Over those years, organic research has been starved of funding because most investment went first into developing pesticides and then into GM crops. Organic farming was started by scientists and farmers who wanted to develop what we would now call a more sustainable way of producing food. Their main concern was with the link between healthy soils, healthy food and human health.

However, those pioneers did create a farming system that has clear environmental
benefits. Organic farming is better for wildlife on farms. The science is clear cut. Scientific literature reviews have found that, overall, organic farms have 30 per cent more wild species, and 50 per cent higher numbers of those species. Based on scientific research, the government says that organic farming has clear environmental benefits – better for wildlife, lower pollution from sprays, produces fewer dangerous wastes and less carbon dioxide.

The
Sustainable Development Commission says that organic certification represents "the gold standard" for sustainable food production. I farmed non-organically for more than 30 years, and switched to organic, mainly to try to bring back wildlife on the farm. We have far more birds, and data on hares before and after switching to organic show numbers doubled from 20 to 40. This year we found 56.

Read about the other six facts here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

that doesn't happen everyday. wish you all the best.