Organic farming under scrutiny? IFOAM explains common misconceptions (Part 2)

Continued from the previous article: IFOAM: Interpreting the Doubts and Common Misconceptions About Organic Agriculture (Part One)

Can organic agriculture treat animals better?

Misconception: In organic farming, animals cannot receive necessary treatment (such as immunization and antibiotics), thus causing much unnecessary, prolonged suffering for the animals.

Interpretation:

• According to the IFOAM Basic Standards, organic farming requires balanced organic feeding, stress-free farming methods and carefully selected disease-resistant breeds to promote and maintain animal health and welfare. Preventive measures (such as regular exercise, free-range rearing, good air circulation, rotational grazing, etc.) can promote the animals' natural immunity.
• Organic farming may not use chemical drugs and antibiotics preventively, because this would cause animals to develop resistance to the drugs. When an animal disease outbreak occurs, if natural treatment methods cannot achieve the desired effect, chemical drugs such as antibiotics may be used.
• Organic farming restricts vaccine use because many vaccines are genetically modified products. Non-GMO vaccines may be used under specific circumstances (when a known disease outbreak occurs, or when the condition cannot be controlled by other means, or when vaccination is required by law).

Misconception: When animals are raised outdoors, animal diseases such as avian influenza spread more easily. Indoor rearing can prevent disease transmission.

Interpretation:

• A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza virus, H5N1, essentially came about because of industrial farming. Although wild birds can carry the virus over short distances, the transnational livestock and poultry farming industry is the biggest carrier of virus transmission. Reports by FAO and USDA both indicate that large-scale avian influenza outbreaks in Asia began in high-density farms.
• There is no evidence that indoor rearing can prevent the spread of avian influenza.
• Diversified poultry farming on small farms is crucial to the long-term development of the farming industry. Because of low stocking density and a high degree of genetic diversity, avian influenza will not form highly pathogenic variants among free-range poultry.

Misconception: Industrially farmed animals produce large quantities of eggs and dairy products, so these animals should not have suffered much.

Interpretation:

• Many reports indicate that the health of high-density farmed animals is not in a normal state; they endure unhealthy living conditions for long periods and require long-term drug treatment.
• Research by the University of Bonn in Germany shows that from 1960 to the mid-1990s, milk production per cow increased by 30%, but leg diseases increased by 300%, and udder diseases increased by as much as 600%.
• Because industrial farming relies excessively on concentrated feed, animal health is also affected. A report by the Danish Animal Welfare Society points out that, harmed by stress and unnatural feed, about half of Danish dairy cows suffer from stomach ulcers.
• Even when animals are not diseased, because they cannot express natural behaviors (free movement, nesting, etc.), they still suffer mentally and physically. Organic farming requires farmers to ensure the animals' normal physiological needs.

Misconception: Organic farming standards are not globally uniform. For example, why do organic farming standards in some regions allow cattle to be kept confined?

Interpretation:

• Different farming standards reflect local climate and culture, and also reflect the ongoing development process of organic standards themselves.
• IFOAM Basic Standards require that all animals have grazing space and outdoor activity areas, but considering animal welfare and pasture management, in some cases animals may be kept confined for short periods, or confined during specific seasons.
• In regions where the organic industry has already developed steadily, organic farming is required to use 100% organic feed. But in regions where organic feed is hard to obtain and organic agriculture has just begun to develop, requiring organic farming to use 100% organic feed would hinder the development of organic agriculture.
• In short, although organic farming standards differ from place to place, this does not mean these standards are not worthy of recognition. Although no organic standard can provide the best, universally applicable animal welfare framework, there is ultimately a huge difference between the living conditions that organic farming and industrial farming provide for animals.

Can organic agriculture feed the world?

Misconception: Organic agriculture cannot feed a growing world population.

Interpretation:

• Organic is built on a foundation combining traditional culture, modern science and technology, and innovation. Adopting organic agriculture does not mean returning to pre-Industrial Revolution food yields.
• The claim that organic yields are only "one third" or "half" of conventional agricultural yields is usually a conclusion drawn from incomplete data.
• Many studies point out that organic agriculture can be as productive as petrochemical agriculture, or even more productive. For example, research by Per Pinstrup Andersen of Cornell University concluded that organic agriculture yields about 80% of petrochemical agriculture. Another study of 293 cases worldwide showed that in developed countries, organic agriculture yields 92% of petrochemical agriculture. When first converting to organic agriculture, yields may decline, but once soil microbial activity recovers and nutrient cycling returns to normal, yields will recover.
• In developing countries (also the regions with the most severe food shortages), organic can increase food yields. This is due to the increase in soil organic matter and the enhancement of water retention capacity.
• Model calculations led by Catherine Badgley of the University of Michigan found that assuming the whole world adopted organic agriculture (with the cultivated area unchanged), it could provide enough food for the entire population.
• At present, research funding for organic agriculture is still very limited. If governments pay more attention and increase research investment, organic agriculture has greater potential to raise yields.
• Global agricultural production is already enough to provide food for everyone. But not everyone can afford food. The real threats to food security are political, economic and social factors, not food yields. Rural development is a major cause constraining food security. Organic agriculture, based on the principles of health, ecology, fairness and care, is the most powerful tool for promoting rural development.
• Organic agriculture can restore soil vitality. Because of unsustainable petrochemical agriculture, about six million hectares of arable land are lost each year (mainly in poor countries). This trend can be reversed through organic farming.
• By adopting diversified planting, the total annual yield of a piece of arable land can be increased.
• Organic farming advocates producing feed on local farms, so it can significantly reduce the demand for grain feed. Consumers' diets may also change as environmental awareness increases, shifting toward a mainly vegetarian diet. Overall, it is possible for the future agricultural system to be transformed into one that is organic, sustainable, efficient, high-yielding, and able to provide enough food for the world's population. However, whether everyone can afford food depends strongly on political, economic and social factors, and is not something organic agriculture alone can solve.

Misconception: There are not enough cattle in the world to provide enough manure for organic farmland.

Interpretation:

• Cow manure and other manures are not the only fertilizer source for organic agriculture. Plant composting, applying mulch, and making fertilizer from aquatic plants are all methods of increasing soil fertility in organic agriculture.
• In addition to on-farm nutrient sources, organic agriculture also adds fertility to the soil from outside. For example, planting leguminous green manure crops, using natural mineral fertilizers, and using fertilizers made from recycled waste (guano, kitchen waste, oilseed cake fertilizer, forestry by-products, peat, textile industry by-products, etc.).
• Plant fertilizers can provide more nitrogen than manure.

Is organic agriculture socially just?

Misconception: Most organic food is produced by large companies and sold after long-distance transport, so buying organic food cannot help small family farms.

Interpretation: Organic certification cannot guarantee that a product is produced by a small family farm. If consumers want to help small farms, they should look for purchasing standards more suitable than organic certification. For example, they can buy organic food from small, local farms through a participatory guarantee system, or buy food directly from small farmers.

Misconception: The organic food market is getting bigger and bigger, so it supplies more and more to large supermarkets. These companies put pressure on suppliers and farmers (both organic and non-organic) to lower prices and increase the standardization of products. Therefore, supplying large companies makes organic lose its original purpose. There is no reason to buy organic from supermarkets.

Interpretation:

• Supermarkets sell organic products, and because the transaction scale is larger, it is possible to lower product prices and enable more people to buy organic products; this does not mean that producers' profits will decrease.
• Standardization and certification both arose because of consumer demand, not because of organic agriculture itself.
• Standardization does not mean a lowering of organic standards. In complying with the requirements for organic products, supermarkets often impose strict requirements to reduce risk.
• It is entirely possible not to buy organic through mainstream market channels. Organic products can be bought through local farmers' markets, cooperative stores, online shopping and other channels. This is beneficial and should be encouraged. However, supermarkets will still sell organic food, and the more choices supermarkets offer, the more consumers will shift to an organic diet.

Misconception: Organic agriculture consumes a great deal of labor, and in developing countries troubled by AIDS and war, adopting organic agriculture places a heavier burden on local people.

Interpretation:

• Organic agriculture does indeed consume more labor than petrochemical agriculture. But in developing countries, land and capital (not labor) are the constraints on agriculture. The cost of labor is even lower than the cost of chemical inputs (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc.), which is one reason why developing countries can benefit from converting to organic.
• Organic agriculture has a series of technical methods that can save labor. For example, using cover crops to control weeds and reduce soil loss, and using crop straw to make mulch.
• Organic agriculture can reduce environmental pollution, provide more nutritious food, and reduce antibiotic resistance in animals and humans, which is beneficial to populations afflicted by AIDS.

Misconception: Organic farmers endure enormous work pressure every day, which in turn creates health threats such as incurable back problems. Therefore, organic agriculture is not healthier farming for farmers.

Interpretation:

• Very few farmers switch back to petrochemical agriculture after practicing organic agriculture. This shows that, overall, organic agriculture can let them live a better life. Although the workload may be greater, organic agriculture also brings farmers more benefits: a sense of achievement from producing healthy, ecological food; reduced threats from pesticides and other chemicals; a better, more diverse farm environment that allows farmers to develop more income sources such as ecotourism; and higher, more stable farmer incomes.
• The best organic farmers are not those who spend the most time weeding, but those who spend time understanding the agricultural ecosystem and thereby reduce their workload.
• Organic agriculture is knowledge-intensive agriculture. When methods are appropriate, the workload can be kept under control.

Is natural good and synthetic bad?

Misconception: Organic agriculture makes a distinction between "natural" and "chemical". But substances made by chemical industry and those produced naturally are, in theory, all chemicals, because every biological process is a chemical process.

Interpretation:

• Organic agriculture first uses ecological processes and appropriate farming methods to control pests, diseases and weeds. Chemical substances (even natural ones) are used only as a last resort.
• In the laboratory, substances that exist in the external "natural world" can also be synthesized. These chemical substances (if sufficient quantity and purity cannot be obtained from nature) can be used as inputs for organic agriculture, but they need to meet more conditions (see below).
• The biggest difference between natural" and "synthetic" pesticides is how long they persist in the environment (such as their half-life). Biological pesticides usually degrade within a few days, while synthetic pesticides can persist in the environment for months or even decades.
• Although all natural reactions are chemical reactions, not every chemical reaction exists in nature. Every year the agrochemical industry creates new synthetic chemical substances, and their effects on ecosystems and human health are largely unknown. Therefore organic agriculture is very cautious about synthetic chemical substances.
• Whether natural" or "synthetic" is not the standard that defines organic. Inputs for organic agriculture must meet at least the following requirements:

1. Necessity and alternatives: Any input is necessary to achieve sustainable production, is necessary to maintain yield and quality, and is the best available technology.
2. Source and production process: Organic agriculture is based on the use of natural, biological, renewable resources.
3. Environment: Organic production and processing are sustainable for the environment.
4. Human health: Organic techniques improve human health and food safety.
5. Quality: Organic methods can maintain or improve product quality.
6. Social, economic and ethical: Inputs for organic agriculture can make its products meet consumers' needs. Organic agriculture is socially just and economically sustainable, and organic farming methods respect cultural diversity and protect animal welfare.

• In addition, organic agriculture should minimize the input of external substances and encourage farm self-sufficiency. Therefore, using farm-made biological pesticides is better than using purchased commercial pesticides.

Translated and compiled by: Jing (journalist for Youjihui)