Organic farming

**History and Terminology**:
– Agriculture practiced for thousands of years without artificial chemicals.
– Development of artificial fertilizers in mid-19th century and chemical pesticides in the 1940s.
– Organic movement pioneers like Albert Howard, Gabrielle Howard, and Rudolf Steiner.
– ‘Organic’ refers to the use of organic matter like compost and manure.
– Coined term ‘eco-agriculture’ in 1970.
– Originally supply-driven, now demand-driven with premium prices and subsidies attracting farmers.

**Practices and Methods**:
– Organic farming uses organic fertilizers like compost and bone meal.
– Techniques include crop rotation, companion planting, and biological pest control.
– Standards allow natural substances and limit synthetic ones, prohibiting GMOs and antibiotics in livestock.
– Methods include crop rotation, green manures, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation.
– Encourages polyculture for crop diversity, soil management through natural breakdown of organic matter, and weed management focusing on suppression.

**Regulations and Standards**:
– Internationally regulated by organizations like the European Union.
– Standards set by International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.
– Legal enforcement by transnational organizations and many nations focusing on sustainability, soil fertility, and biodiversity.
– Prohibits synthetic pesticides, antibiotics, and growth hormones.
– Organic agriculture standards regulate production methods and final output with trends towards legislated standards.

**Impact and Challenges**:
– Certified organic agriculture covers 70 million hectares globally.
– Market for organic food reached $63 billion in 2012.
– Challenges include lower yields compared to intensive farming, land conversion for organic farming, and balancing local environmental gains with global impacts.
– Benefits biodiversity and local environmental protection but may require more land conversion.
– Concerns over food waste from industrial agriculture and negative climate effects from land conversion.

**Economics, Growth, and Productivity**:
– Global market value of certified organic products increasing with retail sales reaching $80 billion worldwide in 2014.
– Organic agricultural land increasing significantly over the years.
– Organic farming more profitable than conventional farming in the U.S. and globally.
– Studies show mixed results on productivity with organic yields typically 80% of conventional yields.
– Profitability factors include avoiding costly inputs, price premiums, and narrowing yield gaps.