Course Notes
SFS Individual Assignment
Question.
Can organic farmers produce enough food to feed the world? Discuss this question commenting on the place of organic farming in sustainable food systems
In order for organic farming to produce enough food for the world in a sustainable system, limiting factors to production in the organic system need to be overcome. Through yields outputs to primarily disease control and fertilizers, this method of farming could solve global hunger and world starvation, giving us a
On the other hand, conventional agricultural production systems are not necessarily sustainable-perhaps we need a compromise. Continual cropping and grazing, together with over use of herbicides, insecticides and fertilisers are inarguably damaging to the environment and the web of life.
There has often been a proposal that Northern Australia could become the food bowl of Australia. The argument against this is often that disease and pest control in the Northern climates is a major limiting factor to production. Extrapolating this to a world situation, I don’t believe organic farming on a world scale could achieve the production levels required to feed the escalating population. Without conventional inputs, which are not always organically friendly, I cannot see adequate production to feed the world. Perhaps in to the future this can be achieved.
As dad just pointed out-in the North of Australia, and this would be in other matching arid countries of the world, animal production, is relatively easily to be organically certified because they don’t need to use drench, fertiliser etc-only some feed supplements which could be organic. The problem areas are the more tropical areas where disease and pest control are more difficult in an organic plant production system.
-produce food of optimum quality and quantity using sustainable farming practices
-produced in over 130 countries
-represent fastest growing food sector worldwide
Question.
Can organic farmers produce enough food to feed the world? Discuss this question commenting on the place of organic farming in sustainable food systems
In order for organic farming to produce enough food for the world in a sustainable system, limiting factors to production in the organic system need to be overcome. Through yields outputs to primarily disease control and fertilizers, this method of farming could solve global hunger and world starvation, giving us a
On the other hand, conventional agricultural production systems are not necessarily sustainable-perhaps we need a compromise. Continual cropping and grazing, together with over use of herbicides, insecticides and fertilisers are inarguably damaging to the environment and the web of life.
There has often been a proposal that Northern Australia could become the food bowl of Australia. The argument against this is often that disease and pest control in the Northern climates is a major limiting factor to production. Extrapolating this to a world situation, I don’t believe organic farming on a world scale could achieve the production levels required to feed the escalating population. Without conventional inputs, which are not always organically friendly, I cannot see adequate production to feed the world. Perhaps in to the future this can be achieved.
As dad just pointed out-in the North of Australia, and this would be in other matching arid countries of the world, animal production, is relatively easily to be organically certified because they don’t need to use drench, fertiliser etc-only some feed supplements which could be organic. The problem areas are the more tropical areas where disease and pest control are more difficult in an organic plant production system.
-produce food of optimum quality and quantity using sustainable farming practices
-produced in over 130 countries
-represent fastest growing food sector worldwide