The Soil Association has responded to comments issued by climate expert Lord John Krebs that organic farming may do more damage to the environment than conventional farming. The comments were made during at the Oxford Farming Conference on 7 January.
The comments levelled at organic farming, were based on the increased amount of land needed to facilitate organic farming and the subsequent increase in the amount of carbon released from the soil. During the lecture, in which the original comments were made, Lord Krebs called for the smarter use of nitrogen fertiliser and said the use of GM crops could benefit the environment.
According to the UK government, agriculture is responsible for 9% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions; it is Lord Krebs job to reduce this figure in line with the UK’s target of reducing greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050.
The Soil Association CEO Helen Browning replied by saying that she was ‘bemused’ by Lord Kreb’s open hostility towards organic farming. Browning cited the paper published by US scientists at the University of California Berkeley, which contrary to Lord Kreb’s comments hailed organic farming as playing an important role in feeding the world in the future.
The University analysis showed that organic crop yields were only 19.2% lower on average than conventional crops, a much smaller difference than previously reported.
Browning continued in fighting the corner for organic farming, citing the fact that a global meta-analysis revealed that organic farming stores significant amounts of carbon in the soil over time, effectively combating climate change. Conversion to organic typically involves putting land into nitrogen fixing clover and grass mixes, which absorb carbon opposed to releasing it.
Jonathon Rees, owner of Graig Farm Organics, one of the UK’s leading organic food providers, has published a report to answer some of their customers frequently asked questions about organic food and farming.
Jonathon Rees and his family have had the same farm in the family since the 1940’s and since 1999 have grown and developed an internet based organic mail order business to be proud of. Bumper sales over Christmas meant that happy customers went as far as messaging the family on Christmas day to share how much they were enjoying the food they had purchased.
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