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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Organic farming systems could feed the world while slashing fertilizer use
  • Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:41:27 -0600



Organic farming systems could feed the world while slashing fertilizer use
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/node/436

A scholarly review shows that natural farming approaches could produce enough
food for current populations if distributed equally, while reducing
environmental impacts of conventional farming methods.

Reviewing nearly 300 studies and reports, a team of researchers at the
University of Michigan concluded in a 2007 paper that low-intensive food
production systems (including organic and other natural approaches) “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.”

Temperate and tropical agroecosystem farming which would comprehensively
implement nitrogen-fixing (leguminous) cover crops could grow sufficient
nitrogen to displace most use of purchased N fertilizer, the authors
estimated.

The team’s paper triggered discussion about the relative role of crop
rotations in organic and non-organic agriculture, and about the reliability
of non-peer reviewed technical and research reports.

Full report
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1091304




  • [Livingontheland] Organic farming systems could feed the world while slashing fertilizer use, Tradingpost, 04/26/2008

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