Organic agriculture is better for the environment because its practices involve less pollution, soil erosion and energy. Eliminating the use of pesticides in agriculture also benefits nearby birds and animals and people who live near farms. In general, organic agriculture is considered to be a much more sustainable alternative when it comes to food production. The lack of pesticides and a greater variety of plants improves biodiversity and translates into better soil quality and a reduction in pollution from fertilizer or pesticide runoff.
This is because Sweden is one of the few countries that has statistics that include the yields of organic and conventional crops. It doesn't deeply consider the many benefits (of organic potential) or the many long-term costs of biocidal products and “conventional agricultural practices”. Agroecological agricultural systems, such as organic ones, are intended to maintain the health of soils, ecosystems and people, working within nature's cycles and producing food in ways that do not harm the environment. Despite being much more expensive than its non-organic counterparts, organic agriculture has become the most popular type of alternative agriculture, not only in the United States but also globally.
Instead, farmers use plants and biodiversity to help regulate their cropping systems, McDermid said. This is because organic regulations encourage farmers to “close the cycle”, making use of what they have at hand and limiting the use of imported resources. However, studies have shown that organic milk and meat may be richer in nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids. With that in mind, there's no need to feel guilty or pressured to spend more on organic products.
McDermid is also concerned that some agribusinesses may grow uniformly without biodiversity and continue to be called organic. Indian farmers who grow organic products also make their fertilizers by filling a field with legumes that they cultivate in rotations. There's a huge drawback because of the additional land being used to grow organic crops, said Stefan Wirsenius, an associate professor at Chalmers. However, if England and Wales were not based solely on organic agriculture, and farmers in both countries used this alternative form of agriculture on a smaller scale, carbon emissions could be reduced by 20 percent.
McDermid said that, in some areas of the developing world, organic agriculture can increase yields compared to conventional agriculture because it doesn't rely as much on water or chemical inputs. I am one of those who believe that organic agriculture, at least as it is done in the West, will mean that more land will have to be converted into agricultural land just to feed the millions of new mouths that are being born.
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