Read at : Google Alert – desertification
Organic is about ‘dirt farming,’ ‘feeding the world’
Written by Jim Ewing
Ideas about what constitutes “organic” – especially by people who should know better – surprises me sometimes.
For example, I keep seeing “studies” that purport to show that conventional, i.e. industrial/chemical agriculture “outperforms” organic crops.
It’s become a chestnut that it “feeds the world” (by spraying poisons, using up fossil fuels and destroying plant diversity through genetic manipulation – which are each and all unsustainable practices).
But the boastful claims are often based on “science” that’s skewed toward conventional methods. Notably, a “scientist” will take one plant and will dump synthetic fertilizer on it, spray it with pesticides and herbicides, then take another plant and and leave it alone and call it “organic.”
Naturally, the “conventional” ag plant will appear to thrive. But that’s a false measure. There’s nothing “organic” about a neglected plant in poor soil.
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