Is Organic Farming Sustainable?
Many people seem to equate sustainable agriculture with organic farming. The two concepts certainly are related, but they are not the same. The recent rapid growth in organic markets has attracted the attention of many conventional farmers. Growing organic markets and organic price premiums also have attracted the attention of the giant agribusiness corporations. The Hudson Institutes Dennis Avery and a few other high-input junkies not withstanding, organic production has gained in both interest and credibility. The o-word a curse word in the agricultural establishment a few years ago has become almost an in-word. Unfortunately, the S-word remains a curse word in the vocabulary of most folks in the agricultural establishment including many university people. Sustainability is OK if it means a profitably, environmentally sound agriculture. Even Monsanto and DuPont have their sustainable agriculture programs. But, once you start bringing in the social issues family farms, rural communiti
