organic

Organic Farming Better Than Factory Farming in 30 Year Study

- Adam Clare 3 Comments

This is certainly good news for people who eat: organic and sustainable food production is just as good – or even better – than the standard factory farming setup.

After an initial decline in yields during the first few years of transition, Rodale Institute claims the organic system soon rebounded to match or surpass the conventional system. Over time, FST became a comparison between the long term potential of the two systems.

*Organic yields match conventional yields.

*Organic outperforms conventional in years of drought. Organic fields increased groundwater recharge and reduced run-off.

Read more at Friends Eat.

Organic Farming Better Than Factory Farming

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

There are still a lot of people who think that congenital factory farming is the most efficient way to produce crops, well those people get proven wrong – a lot! The good news is that organic farming is good for the crops, the planet, and the farmer’s profitability.

Check it out:

So, in yield terms, both of the organic rotations featuring corn beat the Adair County average and came close to the conventional patch. Two of the three organic rotations featuring soybeans beat both the county average and the conventional patch; and both of the organic rotations featuring oats trounced the county average. In short, Borlaug’s claim of huge yield advantages for the chemical-intensive agriculture he championed just don’t pan out in the field.

And in terms of economic returns to farmers—market price for crops minus costs—the contest isn’t even close. Organic crops draw a higher price in the market and don’t require expenditures for pricy inputs like synthetic fertilizer and pesticides.

Read more at Mother Jones.

Organic Fertilizers Cost Effective and Better for Crops

- Adam Clare

Here’s a good story about how poor farmers in Kenya have shunned expensive chemical fertilizers for cheaper organic ones.

The organic fertiliser is sprayed onto maize two weeks after planting, and a month later.

Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services through Kenya Agriculture Research Institute have tested the fertiliser’s components and given an analytical report.

Mr Mosbei said the use of organic fertiliser, apart from rejuvenating soil quality, saves farmers about 70 percent of the cost of production.

“Whereas it takes a farmer in the North Rift 100kg of DAP and 50kg of top dressing to plant an acre of maize, all they require is only eight litres at Sh300 per litre for the same acre,” said Mr Mosbei.

“The organic fertiliser enriches the soil with minerals and maintains an ample PH level for the minerals required by plants for optimum yield,” added Mr Rono.

Read the full article.

Thanks Greg!

Craft Brewers Revive Local Economies

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

A bunch of towns in the USA have had to close their manufacturing plants as free trade and the global economy transplant jobs elsewhere. This has left a lot of people unemployed and a lot of warehouse and manufacturing space open. The surplus of space has given a great opportunity to craft brewers whose sales are increasing in the ongoing American recession.

Craft brewers are using the space abandoned by the old manufactures and hiring people who lost their jobs. Instead of producing useless consumer goods they are now producing delicious beer. All the more reason to drink from your local brewery instead of the big beer conglomerates.

Many brewers large and small are already focused on making their infamously resource-intensive industry more sustainable. Vermont’s Magic Hat Brew Company recently installed a digester that produces natural gas from the organic waste products of beer production; even giant Anheuser-Busch captures waste heat from brewing and puts it to use. Many local brewers are community-minded; craft beer giant Samuel Adams rents its corporate headquarters at the old Haffenreffer Brewery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, a space they share with light industry, a couple of restaurants, artists’ studios, a fitness club, and a variety of local nonprofits.

“Shoe Town to Brew Town” offers an opportunity not only to celebrate such initiatives, but forge relationships between brewers and experts to leverage the unique qualities of the craft-beer industry. For Jimmy Carbone and his fellow craft-brew enthusiasts, beer pairs well with a menu that includes sustainability, jobs, and vibrant communities.

Read the full article here.

Thanks to Mirella over at Beerology.

What You Eat Matters

- Adam Clare

Jason Schwartzman cares about what you eat. Well, at the very least he has narrated a new short film on the importance of what we eat. The film looks like it covers a lot issues around problematic factory farming and the benefits of traditional farming methods.

Here’s a promo for the film:

And Gene Baur from Farm Sanctuary says:

“The way we eat has profound consequences for our own health, but also for the environment and for animals and every day each of us makes choices about what we support and the way we spend our dollars is very important. Unfortunately, most people have been spending their dollars in a way that’s been supporting an unhealthy, an inhumane and unsustainable system. By becoming more aware and making choices that are more aligned with our values and our interests we are going to see a shift.”

Check out the film’s website platetoplanet.org.

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