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If you've stepped into a supermarket in

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recent years chances are you found

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yourself increasingly pressured by the

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dilemma of the conscious consumer buying

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conventional versus organic food. The

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demand for organic foods in supermarkets

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has skyrocketed in recent years

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resulting in its increased availability

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among many supermarkets.

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However despite considerable demand many

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chains still feature both organic and

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conventional foods. Organic foods are

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typically placed directly next to their

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conventional counterparts

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despite considerably different price

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points. Thus the consumer is left to make

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a difficult decision one that is

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motivated by both economic

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considerations and a barrage of other

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concerns and perceptions about organic

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food. Chances are you've grappled with

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this predicament yourself. So what are

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these perceptions about organic foods?

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Research suggests that major themes of

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concern among consumers include animal

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welfare health food safety local economy

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and most notably environmental

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sustainability. This last concern is what

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this brief presentation will address. Is

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organic agriculture more environmentally

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sustainable than the conventional

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agriculture? The question is more complex

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than one may think. Sustainable

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agriculture is generally understood as

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agriculture that is capable of

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maintaining its productivity and

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usefulness to society over the long run

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It must be resource conserving

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economically viable and socially

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supportive. We see then that

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sustainability is somewhat of an

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ambiguous term that is more often

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recognizable retrospectively. Accordingly

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there is also some degree of ambiguity

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and just how to measure sustainability

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However two common measurements are

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levels of species biodiversity and long

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term soil quality in agricultural

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environments. Considerable research has

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been produced surrounding these two

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measures of sustainability. The majority

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of research concerning organic versus

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conventional farms indicate that organic

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farms contain consistently higher levels

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of species biodiversity

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even when located near non-organic farms

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situated in virtually synonymous

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landscapes. Research suggests multiple

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potential reasons for this in relation

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to differing management techniques on

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organic farms including crops rotated

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use of animals incorporation of non crop

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habitats and rejection of pesticides and

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synthetic

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fertilizers. These techniques

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contrast with conventional agriculture

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which is typically comprised of heavy

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pesticide use extensive monoculture and

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genetically modified crops. A

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meta-analysis of farming data in Sweden

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found that organic farming enabled on

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average a 30% increase in species

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richness and a 50% increase in species

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abundance when compared to conventional

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farms. Studies done elsewhere confirm

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this finding that organic farms are

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consistently more bio diverse. Another

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measure of environmental sustainability

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is long-term soil quality which is

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generally measured in two ways: one how

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many microbes are in the soil and two

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how much carbon is available for plant

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growth. Organic farming is generally

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associated with higher measures of both

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these two categories along with a number

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of other factors related to soil quality

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including higher soil pH reduced soil

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erosion and higher water carrying

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capacities

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Therefore sites of organic agriculture

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can be productive for longer periods of

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time than their conventional

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counterparts. However as important as

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these factors are in defining

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sustainable practices organic farming

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is certainly imperfect. The

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sustainability of an agricultural

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practice must also consider its economic

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viability essentially the overall crop

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yield the farms. Research has conjured up

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mixed results on this matter. Some

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studies in specific regions have

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concluded that organic farming does not

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have an impact on overall crop yield and

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in some cases can even correlate

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increased crop yield. However there is

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also considerable meta-analysis that

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suggests lower crop yield on organic

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farms and therefore pressure to use more

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land to produce the same amounts of food

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Moreover it must be noted that although

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organic farming is consistent with

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higher levels of species richness and

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abundance specific species are

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consistently favored including birds,

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predatory insects, vascular plants and

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pollinators. Integral in understanding

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the sustainability of organic farming is

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remembering that monoculture in any

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setting will set boundaries for

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biodiversity

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The reality is that sustainability is

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difficult to quantify especially in

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relation to agricultural practices that

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must produce food for an increasingly

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large global population. Moreover many

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other factors go into quantifying the

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environmental sustainability of food for

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instance the type of organic food

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produced and the distance from point of

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production to point of sale. However

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using soil health and species

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biodiversity as measurements organic

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farming is clearly more environmentally

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sustainable than conventional farming

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The dilemma of the consumer then is

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entirely valid and as a conscious

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consumer in the economic position to

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make this choice choosing organic is

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something that can be done to limit

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one's environmental impact

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