Don't believe the lie: Organic farming CAN feed the world

[baja]

Don't believe the lie: Organic farming CAN feed the world

Monday, March 05, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer



(NaturalNews) One of the arguments often used to defend genetically-modified (GM) crops purports that biotechnology is necessary to feed the world, as non-GM and organic farming methods by themselves are incapable of producing enough food for everyone. But the truth of the matter is that organic farming by itself is fully capable of feeding the world -- we just need to make a few changes to the way we grow and raise our food, which includes putting an end to the factory farming methods that are destroying our health and the planet.

In a report entitled Feeding the Future, the Soil Association, a U.K.-based organic farming advocacy group, makes the case that organic and other agro-ecological farming systems are not only the solution to the world's hunger problems, but when implemented, these holistic methods of growing food actually facilitate bringing the world's poorest out of poverty.

On the flip side, GM farming systems perpetuate and even create poverty because they lock farmers into an endless cycle of dependence on corporations for both the next season's batch of self-destructing seeds, and the toxic chemical cocktails required to grow them. GM agriculture, in other words, is toxic to the world's economies, toxic to human health, and toxic to the environment.

As was shown in a recent Rodale Institute study, which was the culmination of more than 30 years worth of research, organic farming systems actually produce higher yields than GM and non-GM conventional farming systems. Organic farming is also fully self-renewing and sustainable, as composting, manure, and other organic fertilizing methods naturally enrich soil and eliminate the need for toxic pesticides and herbicides (http://www.naturalnews.com/033925_or...op_yields.html).

A much as 40 percent of the world's grains are fed to factory farm animals

Besides the GMO issue, factory farming systems in general, including confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), are needlessly depleting much of the world's supply of grains. According to the Soil Association, as much as 40 percent of all the world's cereals are fed to livestock, and this could rise to 50 percent by 2050 if current trends continue.

Ruminating animals like cows and sheep were meant to eat grasses on pasture, not GM soy, corn, and the many other grains that are routinely fed to them on factory farms. Besides making the animals sick, as they were not designed to eat them, these grain mixtures require an intense amount of resources to grow and produce.

By letting animals graze naturally on pasture grasses, which humans cannot eat anyway, these grains could instead be used to feed humans. And grass-fed animals produce far healthier meat than grain-fed animals anyway, which means that human health across the globe would improve dramatically just from making the switch (http://www.naturalnews.com/027199_meat_fat_cattle.html).

One third of the world's food ends up in the trash heap as waste

Particularly in the developed world, humans waste an incredible amount of food. The Soil Association says that roughly one third of all food produced for human consumption ends up getting wasted. So if more people simply made a conscious effort to conserve food, or at least come up with simple ways to share unused food with those in need, hunger in many areas of the world would subside dramatically (http://www.naturalnews.com/033885_fo...e_America.html).

The group also mentions a type of food rationing system as another option, but such a tyrannical approach would be wholly unnecessary if the other methods were implemented, and if more people began growing their own organic food at home.

To read the full report, visit:
http://www.soilassociation.org

Sources for this article include:

http://www.soilassociation.org

http://www.naturalnews.com/033925_or...op_yields.html


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035150_or...#ixzz1oHuIkKkK

[Odysseus]

GMO food are being forced on economies globally. There are tariffs backing this up and entire parts of our economy who have lobbied, from a cost perspective to encourage this. Most people are eating GMO and have no idea that they are.

How does this matter more than the environment where organic food comes from?


http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_jackson.html

The oceans are dying and nothing posted on any thread will enlighten anybody.

It’s not about the fish; it’s not about the pollution; it’s not about the climate change. It’s about us and our greed and our need for growth and our inability to imagine a world that is different from the selfish world we live in today.” (Jeremy Jackson)

[alkemical]

I know guys, this is a fight that I fight everyday.

[Odysseus]

As a C-card diver I can say from experience the oceans will be literally destroyed in 30 years from our lack of attention and because we don't "see" the oceans nobody cares about the issues that face generations.

[alkemical]

I was involved in the 'Save the Bay' foundation for a very long time growing up. I know what's happening, it's also one of the reasons i'm very anti-fracking. I've seen the damage done here in this state. All over my news feeds it talks about the rising acidification of the oceans.

The last thing I want is a president who "privatizes", and turns it over to people who continue these foul practices of ****ting where we eat and sleep.

I want to make a living out of healing the earth, and practicing sustainable - custodian bearing practices. Education, evangelizing - i can only do so much - policy really needs change.

Sometimes i think we wish for an apocalypse just so we have a direction on where to go. Starting over seems easier than fixing it.

[alkemical]

http://www.disinfo.com/2012/01/anony...onsanto-video/

Anonymous, which briefly knocked the FBI and Justice Department websites offline as well as Music Industry websites in retaliation for the US shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload, is a shadowy group of amazing international hackers.

Anonymous Message To Monsanto: We fight for farmers! – Video Transcript (Cross-Posted from Organic Common Sense:

“To the free-thinking citizens of the world: Anonymous stands with the farmers and food organizations denouncing the practices of Monsanto We applaud the bravery of the organizations and citizens who are standing up to Monsanto, and we stand united with you against this oppressive corporate abuse. Monsanto is contaminating the world with chemicals and genetically modified food crops for profit while claiming to feed the hungry and protect the environment. Anonymous is everyone, Anyone who can not stand for injustice and decides to do something about it, We are all over the Earth and here to stay.

To Monsanto, we demand you STOP the following:
Contaminating the global food chain with GMO’s [sic].
Intimidating small farmers with bullying and lawsuits.
Propagating the use of destructive pesticides and herbicides across the globe.
Using “Terminator Technology”, which renders plants sterile.
Attempting to hijack UN climate change negotiations for your own fiscal benefit.
Reducing farmland to desert through monoculture and the use of synthetic fertilizers.
Inspiring suicides of hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers.
Causing birth defects by continuing to produce the pesticide “Round-up”
Attempting to bribe foriegn officials
Infiltrating anti-GMO groups

Monsanto, these crimes will not go unpunished. Anonymous will not spare you nor anyone in support of your oppressive illegal business practices.

[Meck77]

Obama could have offered some incentive for American families to grow their own food with all the trillions of bailout dollars that were supposed to help main street. Instead the banks got rich.

Obama=Bush.