even intensive organic agriculture – is generally a pretty environmentally destructive practice.
But if you go beyond the grocery store, you
can find food from growers that are trying to
manage their farmland as ecosystems. There
are plenty of small, alternative farms striving
to create sustainable food production systems.
Farms that focus on restoring and maintaining soil health are less dependent on chemical
inputs, because plants grown in healthy soil
can better access their natural defenses to
ward off pests and disease.
Farmers that think ecologically also tend to let
their animals do a lot of the work for them.
By allowing animals to perform their natural
behaviors, farmers can use livestock to enhance the farmland ecosystem.
For instance, chickens can be moved from
field to field to clean up vegetable patches
before a new crop is planted. In addition to
clearing out old vegetation, chickens eat insect pests, aerate the soil as they scratch for
food, and leave each patch with an ample
dose of fertilizer. Pigs that are allowed to express their inherent piggyness – namely, rooting and wallowing – can be used to till a field
or turn manure into compost. Rotating different species of farm animals across pastures
can reduce disease-risk in livestock while
keeping pastures rich in nutrients and diverse
in forage.
To find produce, dairy, or meat from this type
of ecoagricultural farm, your best bet is to
start talking to local farmers – visit your farmers market or join a CSA.
Can conventional farms be agroecological?
It’s not just small, alternative farms that are
thinking ecologically. Conventional, industrial
farms can practice agroecology as well. Some
use synthetic chemicals only as a last resort,
instead relying on biological management
strategies – such as beneficial insect predators, crop rotation, and monitoring of fields
for pests – to increase yield. Understanding
ecolabels is the best way to determine whether conventional produce is grown agroecologically.
Conventional and organic farms alike can also
practice agroecology by setting aside a portion of their farmland for conservation. Restoring farmland to natural habitat increases
the number of native plant and animal species
on farms, and can also repair important ecosystem functions. Restored land can store atmospheric carbon dioxide, control erosion,
detoxify soil, purify water, provide habitat for
insect predators that keep pests at bay, and
much more.
In a way, agroecology represents a different
way of farming. It’s not necessarily organic,
and it’s not necessarily conventional. Given
how much land use is agricultural and how
environmentally destructive agriculture can
be, agroecology seems like the best solution
to ensure the sustainability of food production and crucial ecosystem services.
Acknowledgement:
Agroecological Farming vs. Organic Farming:
What’s the difference? by Rachel Schulman.
in
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sustainable-farming-organic-vs-agroecology/
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