How do they compare on carbon emissions, water pollution, biodiversity, and land use?
As someone who has studied the environmental impacts of agriculture for many years, there are a handful of questions that I get over and over. One of them is whether we are right to assume that organic farming is better for the environment than conventional farming.
I think this is a common assumption. When I eat with others, there is often an expectation that I will automatically choose the organic option. When I speak to friends, they are keen to tell me that they’ve started buying organic vegetables or beef. They are looking for a thumbs-up that this was the best choice.
[...]Organic farming wins on ecotoxicity
Conventional farming wins on land use
Neither wins on carbon emissions nor on water pollution
The type of food and other factors of food production matter more for the climate
Land use matters
...read more at ourworldindata.org
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It’s remarkable that the most direct thing isn’t even mentioned here: use of toxic pesticides.
Conventional agriculture chemically genocides wide swaths of the natural ecology. “Better for the environment” is almost always a dumb phrase, but if it means anything shouldn’t it be not completely wiping out the native flora and fauna.
Haha! I need to slow down.
I guess what I was thinking is that it’s weird to say that these other measures of pollution are inconclusive, when we’ve already established that one system destroys the natural ecology compared to the other.
The issue is, you can't really grow enough food for everyone without using those harsh methods. Or can you?
I’m not sure. The vast majority of farmland in the US is used to produce animal feed. Without GMOs and synthetic chemicals, they couldn’t produce as much factory farmed meat.
If consumers were eating mostly beans and greens, it might be possible to produce enough organically.
So, basically, “maybe, but only if people radically change their diets.”
tltr
NO
ahaha
100% agreed.
Not only toxic pesticides but also the fertilizers that are being used now-a-days are doing no good to the humanity or overall life. I believe these should be stopped instantly..