Organic Agriculture

Organic Agriculture - in the United States - refers to agriculture that abides by the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic standards.

Resources and Articles

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Soil Association
• National Organic Program (NOP)
• National Organic Program Regulations
• National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Accredited Certifying Agencies (ACAs)
• Organic Consumers Association (OCA)
• Organic Trade Association (OTA)
• Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF)

External Resources

• Andre Leu, "Scientific Studies that Validate High Yield Environmentally Sustainable Organic Systems," Organic Federation of Australia, April 2010.
• Badgley et al, (2007) Organic agriculture and the global food supply, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2007), 22 : 86-108 Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S1742170507001640
• Bemani J.M. et al, (2005), Agricultural runoff fuels large phytoplankton blooms in vulnerable areas of the ocean, Nature 434, 211 - 214 (10 March 2005); doi:10.1038/nature03370
• Benbrook C.M. (2005) Second State of Science Review (SSR), Organic Centre, USA.
• Bradford J.M. (2008), "Organic Pecans: Another Option for Growers" November/December 2008, Agricultural Research magazine. US Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
• Cacek T. and Langner L.L. (1986), The economic implications of organic farming, 1986, American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 25-29.
• Delate K and Cambardella CA.(2004) Organic production: Agroecosystem performance during transition to certified organic grain production. Agronomy Journal 2004, 96, 1288-98.
• Drinkwater, L. E., Wagoner, P. & Sarrantonio, M. (1998), Legume-based cropping systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses. Nature 396, 262 - 265 (1998).
• FAO (2000) Twenty Second FAO Regional Conference for Europe, Porto, Portugal, 24-28 July 2000 Agenda Item 10.1, Food Safety and Quality as Affected by Organic Farming.
• FAO (2003), Organic Agriculture: the Challenge of Sustaining Food Production while Enhancing Biodiversity, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
• Handrek, K. (1990), Organic Matter and Soils, CSIRO, Australia, 1979, reprinted 1990.
• Handrek, K. and Black, N. (2002) Growing Media for Ornamental Plants and Turf, UNSW Press, Sydney 2002.
• Hole D, Perkins A, Wilson J, Alexander I, Grice P and Evans A, (2004) Does organic farming benefit biodiversity?, Biological Conservation Vol 122, Issue I p 113 –130
• Jones, C. E. (2006), Balancing the Greenhouse Equation – Part IV, Potential for high returns from more soil carbon, Australian Farm Journal, February 2006, pp. 55-58
• Leu, A.F. (2004), Organic Agriculture Can Feed the World, Acres USA, Vol. 34, No1
• Lotter, D.W., R. Seidel, and W. Liebhart. (2003). The performance of organic and conventional cropping systems in an extreme climate year. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 18(3):146–154.
• Mader, P., Fliessbach, A., Dubois, D., Gunst, L., Fried, P. and Niggli, U. 2002. Soil fertility and biodiversity in Organic Farming. Science 296, 1694-1697.
• MA Report (2005), Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report, The United Nations Environment Programme March 2005
• Mills P et al (2002), Cancer Incidence in the United Farmworkers of America (UFW) 1987-1997, 2001, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 40: 596-603, 2002.
• Monbiot G (2000), Organic Farming Will Feed the World, Guardian, 24th August 2000
• National Standard (2005) National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce, Edition 3.1, As Amended January 2005, Organic Industry Export Consultative Committee, c/o Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, GPO Box 858, Canberra, ACT, 2601
• New Scientist (2001), Editorial, February 3, 2001
• Nordstrom M. et al, (1998), "Occupational exposures, animal exposure, and smoking as risk factors for hairy cell leukaemia evaluated in a case-control study," BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER Vol. 77 (1998), pgs. 2048-2052.
• Parrott, Nicholas (2002) 'The Real Green Revolution’, Greenpeace Environmental Trust, Canonbury Villas, London ISBN 1 903907 02 0
• Pearce F. and Mackenzie D, (1999), "It's raining pesticides; The water falling from our skies is unfit to drink," NEW SCIENTIST April 3, 1999, pg. 23.
• Pimentel D et al (2005), Environmental, Energetic and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems, Bioscience (Vol. 55:7), July 2005
• Posner et al (2008), Organic and Conventional Production Systems in the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping... Agron J.2008; 100: 253-260
• Pretty J, (1998a), The Living Land - Agriculture, Food and Community Regeneration in Rural Europe, Earthscan, London. August 1999.
• Pretty, J (1998b) SPLICE magazine, August/September 1998 Volume 4 Issue 6.
• Pretty J, (1995) Regenerating Agriculture: Policies and Practice for Sustainability and Self-Reliance, Earthscan, London.
• Reganold J, Elliott L. and Unger Y., (1987) Long-term effects of organic and conventional farming on soil erosion, Nature 330, 370 - 372 (26 November 1987); doi:10.1038/330370a0
• Reganold, J., Glover J, Andrews P, and Hinman H, (2001), Sustainability of three apple production systems. Nature 410, 926-930 (19 April 2001) | doi: 10.1038/35073574
• Rodale (2003) Farm Systems Trial, The Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Road Kutztown, PA 19530-9320 USA
• Rodale (2006) No-Till Revolution, The Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Road Kutztown, PA 19530-9320 USA
• Teasdale, J.R., C.B. Coffman, and R.W. Mangum. 2007. Potential long-term benefits of no-tillage and organic cropping systems for grain production and soil improvement. Agron. J. 99:1297-1305.
• Tilman D., Fargione F, Wolff B, D'Antonio C, Dobson A, Howarth R, Schindler D, Schlesinger W, Simberloff D, and Swackhamer D. (2001), Forecasting Agriculturally Driven Global Environmental Change, Science 13 April 2001 292: 281-284 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1057544]
• Unep-Unctad (2008), Organic Agriculture and Food Security in Africa, Sept 2008.
• Welsh R. (1999), Henry A. Wallace Institute, The Economics of Organic Grain and Soybean Production in the Midwestern United States, Policy Studies Report No. 13, May 1999.
• Wynen, E. (2006), 'Economic management in organic agriculture’. In: Kristiansen, P, Taji, A and Reganold, JP (Eds): Organic Agriculture - a Global Perspective, Chapter 8, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, p. 236.
• Stevenson J (1998), Humus Chemistry in Soil Chemistry p148 Wiley Pub. NY 1998
• Zimmer G (2000), The Biological Farmer. Acres USA, Austin Texas, 2000