permaculture

[Saor Stetler <sstetler@earthlink.net>]

STUDY OF THE WEEK:
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 the fact 
that organic farming is better than conventional, 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 can't produce enough food 
through organic agriculture."
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5996.cfm

ANOTHER STUDY OF THE WEEK:
SCIENTISTS REVEAL THAT PESTICIDES ARE REDUCING CROP YIELDS BY ONE-THIRD
The National Academy of Sciences dropped a bombshell on the agri-toxics 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 for plants, a necessary fertilizer. 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 soil with 
increased crop yields.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5995.cfm