Fill in the gaps using the words from the box.
| ecosystems erosion pesticides or fertilizers soil | water pollution production and fertility chemical-free growth hormone or antibiotic |
Organic does not refer to the food itself but how the food is produced. Organic foods are produced without using any synthetic 1) _____ . Organic crops are grown on soil that has been 2) _____ for at least four years. Organic farming is also meant to maintain the land and keep the surrounding 3)_____ healthy. Organic livestock cannot be fed nonorganic feed or given any type of 4) _____.
When properly managed, organic farming reduces or eliminates 5) _____ and helps conserve water and soil on farms.
Most organic farmers try to make the best use of land, animal, and plant interactions; preserve the natural nutrients; and enhance biodiversity. They practice soil and water conservation to keep 6) _____ down. They use organic manure and mulch to improve 7) _____ structure. They also use natural pest controls. They rotate their crops to keep 8) _____ higher.
Read the following information.
The Limits to Organic Farming in Feeding the World
Organic farming avoids the use of chemical pesticides and manmade fertilizers. Supporters say organic farming is better for the environment than conventional methods. But studies have shown that organic farming generally produces less food per hectare. That lower yield means feeding the world organically would require more land. But good farmland is limited. And scientists say deforestation from the clearing of land for agriculture is already a problem for climate change.
A new study shows that organic crops typically yield less than those raised with artificial fertilizers and pesticides. In a new study, researchers wanted to measure the difference between conventional and organic yields. So they combined the results of sixty-six earlier studies. They found that some organic farms can yield almost as much as conventional farms. But most cannot.
Verena Seufert at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, was the lead author of the study in the journal Nature.
VERENA SEUFERT: "Conventional yields are typically higher than organic yields. But with certain management practices, certain environmental conditions, and certain crop species, this yield difference can be quite small."
On average, organic farms produced twenty-five percent less compared to conventional farms. But yields of organic fruits and other perennial crops nearly equalled the yields from conventional ones. So did the yields of legumes such as soybeans. Legumes produce some of their own nitrogen fertilizer. However, organic vegetables and cereal crops like maize and wheat had a lot lower yields compared to conventionally grown crops.
Ms.Seufert says the soil on organic farms holds water better, and that can reduce the yield difference. Also, organic farmers can improve their yields by making sure their crops get enough fertilizer.
But increasing the nitrogen is harder to do organically, using just animal waste and crop rotations. Organic farmers rotate food crops with plants that fertilize the soil. But while these "cover", or fertilizer, crops are growing, food crops have to be grown on other land. And if farmers use manure, they have to feed the animals that produce it, and that requires grazing land or crop land.
The United Nations predicts that world demand for food will grow seventy percent by the middle of the century. John Reganold is a soil scientist at Washington State University. He says no one should dismiss organic agriculture as part of the solution. He is sure that farming is increasingly a combination of organic and conventional methods.