Organic Farming Can Feed the World

According to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan, organic farming can meet the same productivity levels as conditional farming and even surpass it in the long-term by nearly three times the amount. The study set out to challenge the assumption that organic farming lacks the ability to feed the world’s population.

The study further revealed that matching and eventually exceeding conventional yields could be obtained without the need to create any more amount of organic fertilizers or to expand existing farming land. “We were struck by how much food the organic farmers would produce,” stated Ivette Perfecto, professor at U-M’s School of Natural Resources and Environment. Her work, along with that of Catherine Badgley, research scientist in the Museum of Paleontology, serve to confirm that organic is in fact less harmful on the environment and can potentially reach the agricultural demands of a global society. Perfecto believes that this news is particularly encouraging for developing nations that rely on locally-grown foods due to issues in transportation and logistics importing from outside communities. If organic farming techniques are implemented, these communities can produce high yields of goods and institute a sustainable food source for many years to come.

The research also revealed that by utilizing “green manures” between growing seasons can help achieve the necessary nitrogen levels to sustain prosperous yields year after year without resorting to harmful and toxic fertilizers. The process of applying “green manures” constitutes layering the fields with organically grown crops during the off-season and plowing them into the soil to release natural nutrients back into the soil.

Perfecto and her team stand by their research and claim that the stories circulating about organic agriculture not being able to sustain global food production needs is “ridiculous.” They cite the lobbying and persuasion of chemical, pesticide, and fertilizer companies as means to perpetuate falsities about the potential long-term success for long organic farming methods. The need for such research promoting the organic community is critical to counteract the negative effects of conventional farming methods, with its high-yielding plants, mechanized tillage, and use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Sustainable agriculture through organic farming should after all have as much clout at the table as conventional farming, and may one day (soon?) surpass it.