Study suggests organic farming needs direction to be sustainable

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. I’m sorry, it was more of a rhetorical question.

The name, “organic farming,” is somewhat ill-defined.

http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/torg.html

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More than 40 private organizations and state agencies (certifiers) currently certify organic food, but their standards for growing and labeling organic food may differ. For example, some agencies may permit or prohibit different pesticides or fertilizers in growing organic food. In addition, the language contained in seals, labels, and logos approved by organic certifiers may differ. By the late 1980s, after an attempt to develop a consensus of production and certification standards, the organic industry petitioned Congress to draft the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) defining "organic".

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The key requirement of the “OFPA” is that no “synthetic chemicals” be used (hence, my reference to “slash-and-burn” agriculture.)


Upstream, “Erich Bloodaxe BSN” http://www.democraticunderground.com/112788309#post1 stated, “Organic farming was sustainable for millenia…”

That would be consistent with the idea that “organic farming” uses no “synthetic chemicals.”


I suspect what you consider “organic farming” is a relatively recent invention. (Well, relative to millenia at least.)