Organic Farming – Solution to World Hunger

The following article by Paul Hanley in Saskatoon’s The Star Phoenix succinctly lays out the benefits of organic farming and the issues with industrial farming.  To summarize it in a nutshell, “We need to start paying farmers for ecological services, not just food. The money can come from repurposing perverse subsidies on fossil fuels and farming, estimated by the International Monetary Fund to be over $2 trillion a year worldwide.”

It’s been a good year for Saskatchewan’s organic farmers. First, prices for some organic crops are quadruple those of conventional grains. Second, due to the vagaries of the rail transportation system, organic growers have had more success getting their crop to market this year than conventional farmers. And since they do not use chemical inputs, costs are lower, resulting in higher net income.

Actually, it’s been a good year for organic agriculture worldwide.

The organic approach is gradually shedding the “it can’t feed the world” myth. In fact, report after report came out this year saying it may be the only way to feed the world, even as the population rises by 50 per cent over the course of this century.

UN Report Calls For Radical, Democratic Food System

By Jacob Chamberlain

The current global food system needs to be “radically” and “democratically” changed in order to alleviate global hunger and serve human rights over the profits of major agribusiness corporations, according to a report released Monday by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food.

“At the local, national and international levels, the policy environment must urgently accommodate alternative, democratically-mandated visions” which go beyond the goal of profit maximization and instead rebuild local and sustainable food models, said Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter, while presenting his final report (pdf) to the UN Human Rights Council, finalizing his six-year term.

“Food democracy must start from the bottom-up, at the level of villages, regions, cities, and municipalities,” the rights expert said.

“Food security must be built around securing the ability of smallholder farmers to thrive,” he emphasized. “Respect for their access to productive resources is key in this regard.”

The current system, says De Schutter, has instead created a world monopolized by the big-agro “green revolution” of mono-cropping, industrialization and pesticide-heavy techniques, which has boosted agricultural production over the past 50 years but has “hardly reduced the number of hungry people,” the report states.

Earthworm Farmer’s Bible

According to books world.com, Daniel C. Merrill’s The Earthworm Farmer’s Bible is:

“a must-read for anyone interested in raising earthworms and/or starting an organic garden. In its pages, the reader will learn the difference between standard composting and composting with earthworms. It includes a step-by-step process to convert organic household waste into the magical earth-friendly fertilizers known as earthworm castings-the key component organic horticulture. Plus, it includes a section on how to sell worms and their by-products for a lucrative income.

Disposal of human generated waste is one of the most important environmental issues today and will continue to be in the future. The Earthworm Farmer’s Bible advances the Green Revolution through a fun, income-generating hobby.”

Read more about Daniel C. Merrill Releases ‘The Earthworm Farmer’s Bible’ – BWWBooksWorld by books.broadwayworld.com