Editing Organic farming (section)

=== Environmental impact and emissions ===

Researchers at Oxford University analysed 71 peer-reviewed studies and observed that organic products are sometimes worse for the environment.<ref name="oxford">{{cite web |url-status=dead |via=[[Oregon State University]] |url=http://people.forestry.oregonstate.edu/steve-strauss/sites/people.forestry.oregonstate.edu.steve-strauss/files/Organic%20farms%20not%20necessarily%20better%20for%20environment%20-%20University%20of%20Oxford_2012.pdf |title=Organic farms not necessarily better for environment |publisher=University of Oxford |date=September 12, 2004 |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129022724/http://people.forestry.oregonstate.edu/steve-strauss/sites/people.forestry.oregonstate.edu.steve-strauss/files/Organic%20farms%20not%20necessarily%20better%20for%20environment%20-%20University%20of%20Oxford_2012.pdf }}</ref> Organic milk, cereals, and pork generated higher [[greenhouse gas emissions]] per product than conventional ones but organic beef and olives had lower emissions in most studies.<ref name=oxford/> Usually organic products required less energy, but more land.<ref name=oxford/> Per unit of product, organic produce generates higher nitrogen leaching, nitrous oxide emissions, ammonia emissions, [[eutrophication]], and acidification potential than conventionally grown produce.<ref name=tuomisto>[https://www.academia.edu/1907461/Does_organic_farming_reduce_environmental_impacts_-_A_meta-analysis_of_European_research Does organic farming reduce environmental impacts? - A meta-analysis of European research], H.L. Tuomisto, I.D. Hodge, P. Riordan & D.W. Macdonald, Authors’ version of the paper published in: Journal of Environmental Management 112 (2012) 309-320</ref> Other differences were not significant.<ref name=tuomisto/> The researchers concluded that public debate should consider various manners of employing conventional or organic farming, and not merely debate conventional farming as opposed to organic farming. They also sought to find specific solutions to specific circumstances.<ref name="tuomisto" />{{clarify|reason=I have tried to clean up this very awkward and vague sentence (changed into the previous two sentences) but it still needs a lot of work to clearly state what the original editor intended to communicate from the source.|date=February 2018}}

A 2018 review article in the ''[[Annual Review of Resource Economics]]'' found that organic agriculture is more polluting per unit of output and that widespread upscaling of organic agriculture would cause additional loss of natural habitats.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Meemken|first1=Eva-Marie|last2=Qaim|first2=Matin|date=2018|title=Organic Agriculture, Food Security, and the Environment|journal=Annual Review of Resource Economics|volume=10|issue=1|pages=39–63|doi=10.1146/annurev-resource-100517-023252 |issn=1941-1340|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Proponents of organic farming have claimed that organic agriculture emphasizes closed [[nutrient cycle]]s, biodiversity, and effective [[soil management]] providing the capacity to mitigate and even reverse the effects of [[climate change]]<ref>Meleca (2008). [https://web.archive.org/web/20081211111856/http://www.organicguide.com/community/education/the-organic-answer-to-climate-change/ The Organic Answer to Climate Change].</ref> and that organic agriculture can decrease [[Flue-gas emissions from fossil-fuel combustion|fossil fuel emissions]].<ref name="Rodale2014">Rodale Institute 18 April 2014. [http://rodaleinstitute.org/assets/RegenOrgAgricultureAndClimateChange_20140418.pdf Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change]</ref> "The carbon sequestration efficiency of organic systems in temperate climates is almost double ({{convert|575–700|kg/ha/year}}) that of conventional treatment of soils, mainly owing to the use of grass clovers for feed and of cover crops in organic rotations."<ref>UNEP, 2011, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, www.unep.org/greeneconomy</ref> However, studies acknowledge organic systems require more acreage to produce the same yield as conventional farms. By converting to organic farms in developed countries where most arable land is accounted for,<ref name="FAOARABLE">{{cite web|url=https://www.fao.org/3/y4252e/y4252e06.htm |title=Crop production and natural resource use |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |date=2015}}</ref> increased deforestation would decrease overall carbon sequestration.<ref name="STRATEGIES">{{Cite journal |last1=Muller |first1=Adrian |last2=Schader |first2=Christian |last3=Scialabba |first3=Nadia El-Hage |last4=Brüggemann |first4=Judith |last5=Isensee |first5=Anne |last6=Erb |first6=Heinz |last7=Smith |first7=Pete |last8=Klocke |first8=Peter |last9=Leiber |first9=Leiber |last10=Stolze |first10=Matthias |last11=Niggli |first11=Urs |date=2017 |title=Strategies for feeding the world more sustainably with organic agriculture |journal=Nature Communications |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1290 |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-01410-w |pmid=29138387 |pmc=5686079 |issn=2041-1723 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2017NatCo...8.1290M }}</ref>

Smith et al. (2019) analysed the net greenhouse gas emissions resulting from a hypothetical full conversion of agriculture in England and Wales to 100% organic production. They estimated that such a transition would lead to a 40% reduction in food production compared to conventional farming. Domestic greenhouse gas emissionsemissions would decrease by 6%, but the lower yields would require increased food imports, resulting in [[land-use change]] abroad. In the medium scenario—where half of the additional land is converted from grassland and moderate soil carbon sequestration is assumed—this would lead to a 21% increase in global greenhouse gas emissions emissions compared to the conventional system.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Laurence G. |last2=Kirk |first2=Guy J.D. |last3=Jones |first3=Philip J. |last4=Williams |first4=Adrian G. |title=The greenhouse gas impacts of converting food production in England and Wales to organic methods |journal=Nature Communications |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=4641 |year=2019 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-12622-7 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12622-7 |pmc=6805889 }}</ref>