The Organic Green Revolution
A report from the Rodale Institute claims organic farming and food production can provide enough food to feed the entire planet, while at the same time “restore ecological health” to the Earth. This could be accomplished by launching an “Organic Green Revolution,” which would fundamentally change the way food is grown to protect resources and the environment.
According to the report: “The industrial Green Revolution has not, and cannot, feed the world. Instead of helping people feed themselves, it has created a cycle of dependency. In a world of 6.5 billion people, some 923 million people are seriously undernourished (FAO SOFI Report 2007) with more than two billion people suffering from micronutrient malnutrition, or ‘hidden hunger’ caused by inadequate and non-diversified diets (FAO SOFI Report 2002).”
“25,000 men, women and children die each day from starvation (World Health Report 2000). Experts project that the world food supply will need to double again over the next 40 years to feed our planet’s population… Conventional Green Revolution practices using petroleum-based and chemical inputs have been shown to cause continual loss of soil nutrients, soil organic matter and food nutrient content.”
“These practices consume vast quantities of natural resources to prepare, distribute, and apply fossil fuel inputs, and can justly be defined as degenerative farming. With increased population pressures and declining ecological support systems of healthy soil and water, the only sustainable and restorative option available is one based on the biologically-enhancing production models of organic farming.”
Organic farms currently comprise about 77 million acres worldwide. Organic agriculture outperforms conventional agriculture by a ratio of about 1:3 worldwide.