To Feed the World, Tap Into Organic's Potential: Study

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/02/04/feed-world-tap-organics-potential-study

A new review of four decades of science has come to this conclusion: organic agriculture has a key role to play in feeding the world.

To analyze the body of research, author John Reganold, Regents Professor of Soil Science and Agroecology at Washington State University, and doctoral candidate Jonathan Wachter compared conventional and organic farming using the metrics of productivity, environmental impact, economic viability, and social well-being.

"Thirty years ago, there were just a couple handfuls of studies comparing organic agriculture with conventional. In the last 15 years, these kinds of studies have skyrocketed," Reganold said.

In terms of productivity, they found that organic yields averaged 10 to 20 percent less than conventional—but that's not always the case.

"In severe drought conditions, which are expected to increase with climate change, organic farms

have the potential to produce high yields because of the higher water-holding capacity of organically farmed soils," Reganold said.

Furthermore, as food system reform advocates like Food First's Eric Holt Gimenez have said, there's already more than enough food being produced for the world—low yields are not the root of hunger.