Health updates

The following is new information regarding the productivity of organic farming and the use of pesticides in crop yields.

Organic farming can feed the world

A new University of Michigan study indicates that organic farming is more productive than chemical and energy-intensive industrial agriculture.

Researchers noted 293 examples in previous studies that corroborate this finding, but pointed out that biased studies funded by chemical producers have clouded the public’s understanding of the issue.

Corporate agribusiness has spent decades repeating the mantra that chemical-intensive agriculture is necessary to feed the world.

But according to the new report, “Model estimates indicate that organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base.” Ivette Perfecto, a professor at the University of Michigan, said of the study, “My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you cannot produce enough food through organic agriculture.”

Scientists reveal that pesticides are reducing crop yields by one-third

The National Academy of Sciences dropped a bombshell on the agri-toxin lobby in June when it published a study indicating that pesticides are actually decreasing crop yields by one-third.

Specifically, pesticides are killing important bacteria in the soil that naturally produce a useable form of nitrogen, a necessary fertilizer for plants.

As the use of chemical pesticides has increased in the U.S., soil bacteria have been dramatically reduced, thereby creating an insatiable demand for petroleum-based fertilizers. In contrast, organic farming promotes a healthy, living, richer soil with increased crop yields.

Resource: www.organicconsumers.org.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 26, Number 4, August/September 2007.