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Because organic agriculture respects the balance of microorganisms in the soil, organic producers use composted manure and other natural materials, as well as crop rotation, to help improve soil fertility, rather than synthetic fertilizers that can result in an overabundance of nitrogen and phosphorous in the ground. As a result, organic practices protect ground water supplies and avoid runoff of chemicals that can cause "dead zones" in larger bodies of water.

The Global Scene

Comparisons in Europe, for instance, have shown nitrate leaching rates on organic farms are 40-57 percent lower per hectare (roughly 2.5 acres or 12,000 square yards) and carbon dioxide emissions are 40-60 percent lower per hectare than conventional systems, according to the report Environmental and Resource Use Impacts of Organic Farming in Europe.

On the other hand, current conventional practices have led to some measurable problems, including a high level of toxic metals in commercial fertilizers (Waste Lands: The Threat of Toxic Fertilizer). An analysis of 29 fertilizers found that each contained 22 different heavy metals. In 20 of the products, levels exceeded the limits set on wastes sent to public landfills, with disturbing quantities of arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and dioxin, among others.

Furthermore, polluted runoff from farms and cities went largely unabated and actually increased over the past 30 years according to a 2001 report from the Pew Oceans Commission

. The report noted that many of the nation's coastal environments exhibit symptoms of over-enrichment from these run-offs. Symptoms include harmful algal bloomsharmful algal blooms, loss of seagrasses and coral reefs, and serious oxygen depletion. Coastal regions, as a result, have suffered reduced production of valuable fisheries and threats to biodiversity and ecosystems less resilient to natural and human influences.

Species Diversity, Conservation & World Food Demands

Because organic practices help safeguard the environment and protect habitats, organic production conserves and promotes species diversity. In the United Kingdom, a study comparing biodiversity in organic farming and conventional farming systems found that organic farms had five times as many wild plants in arable (farmable) fields and 57 percent more species (Source: The Biodiversity Benefits of Organic Farming)..

The organic farms also had 25 percent more birds at the field edge, 44 percent more in the field in autumn and winter, and 2.2 times as many breeding skylarks and higher skylark breeding rates. In addition, they had 1.6 times as many of the invertebrate arthropods that make up bird food; three times as many non-pest butterflies in the crop areas; one to five times as many spider numbers, and one to two times as many spider species. They also showed a significant decrease in aphid numbers.

Buying organic products is also a way to support conservation of our land. Organic products, whether foods or fiber, are produced through a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility in an ecological way. There were approximately 1.3 million acres in certified organic production in the United States in 1997. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service estimates 2.6 million acres were in production in 2001.

As far as feeding the world, the late Donella Meadows, who served as director of the Sustainability Institute, wrote: "We already grow enough food to feed everyone; the excess simply is not distributed where it is needed. Industrial agriculture, far from being the salvation it promises, is actually undermining the resource base-healthy soil, clean water, and diversity of plants and animals-needed to sustain the world's growing human population in the long term. If anything can restore that resource base and at the same time eliminate hunger it is organic methods."

Organic foods and products are making a healthy comeback from a by-gone era, but in more of the light of what's healthy for ourselves and Earth's ecology. And the production and use of these products have become the choice of a rapidly growing number of farmers and consumers today. It does prove that the connection between human health and our ecology are indelibly intertwined.

Food Production Demands

With increasing demands for food supplies during the past 60 years, we saw the introduction of the use of harsh chemicals and synthetic fertilizers as a way for farmers to boost crop yields. This subsequently has been followed by the more recent adoption of planting genetically modified cropsgenetically modified crops.