Strategies for feeding the world more sustainably with organic agriculture

Organic agriculture is proposed as a promising approach to achieving sustainable food systems, but its feasibility is also contested. We use a food systems model that addresses agronomic characteristics of organic agriculture to analyze the role that organic agriculture could play in sustainable food systems. Here we show that a 100% conversion to organic agriculture needs more land than conventional agriculture but reduces N-surplus and pesticide use. However, in combination with reductions of food wastage and food-competing feed from arable land, with correspondingly reduced production and consumption of animal products, land use under organic agriculture remains below the reference scenario. Other…

• BF
  Belmont Forum
• SR
  Sight Research UK

  Award: NE/M021327/1
• NE
  Natural Environment Research Council

  Award: NE/M021327/1