Is Organic the Same as Sustainable?

Is Organic the Same as Sustainable?

Advocates for organic farming and sustainable agriculture used to be essentially one and the same. By its nature, organic farming was sustainable, in that most organic farms were relatively small; they were required to use techniques that nurtured the land; and, notably, the produce was grown near where it was consumed -- economies of scale did not encourage long-distance shipping.

Now that agribusinesses have realized that consumers are willing to pay more for organic produce, market forces are prevailing. Large farms are converting to organic methods to take advantage of this trend and fill the demand. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, because that means huge farms are converting to organic methods. But something is being lost, too. Organic agriculture on this scale is not sustainable when it requires that food be trucked thousands of miles from farm to consumer.The fuel required is not renewable, and the process not sustainable over the long term.

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