Bill interviews Catherine Badgley about her research into the comparative outputs of organic and conventional agriculture. In an article she wrote with seven other colleagues, "Organic Agriculture and the Global Food Supply," she makes the case for organic agriculture feeding the world. This research begun when she visited a farm north of Ann Arbor where on 3-acres the farmer was growing 26 tons of produce organically. She responds to criticisms that organic agriculture receives from agribusiness.
Catherine Badgley teaches in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan. Her primary interests are paleontology and the relationship between agriculture and biodiversity. Go to her faculty page to find other articles and talks she's given in these areas.
- KBOO
Comments
An Okay Introduction to Sustainable Farming
This isn't the greatest explanation of organic farming I have encountered, but the bones are there, and the heart is correct.
What isn't included in the article to validate why organic farming is a viable means of feeding the planet is the urban gardening movement that is hinted toward at the conclusion of the interview. Cities that use greenroof gardens generally yield more food than is needed within that city and also have all of the standard benefits of greenroofs such as reduced or virtually eliminated runoff.