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A new University of Michigan study says that farmers in developing countries could as much as triple their food production by converting to organic methods, while farmers in developed countries could convert to organic with little to no loss in food yields.
Professor Ivette Perfecto, one of the study’s main investigators, says she hopes the study will finally put to rest the idea that people would go hungry if all farming were done organically, an idea she considers “ridiculous.” Perfecto says pesticide and fertilizer companies have played a big role in convincing the public that non-organic methods are necessary to produce enough food.
Published in the June issue of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, this Michigan study echoes an paper written by Brian Halweil, a researcher with World Watch and a scientific and technical advisor with The Organic Center.
