What is Organic Agriculture?
Organic agriculture:
- works in harmony with nature by maintaining and increasing long-term fertility and biological activity of soils using locally adapted cultural, biological and mechanical methods as opposed to reliance on inputs;
- maintains and encourages agricultural and natural biodiversity on the farm and surrounding areas through the use of sustainable production systems and the protection of plant and wildlife habitats;
- ensures that livestock have access to adequate and good quality food, are able to socialise normally, do not damage aquatic life through unrestricted access to riparian areas, and are slaughtered in the most humane manner possible;
- can be practised anywhere by anyone who may or may not label it "organic";
- does not claim to produce food free of contaminants - all organic food is produced on this earth, no part of which has escaped damage from chemical agriculture and other industrial processes;
- will, however, leave the land and animals better off than if farmed using chemical-dependent agricultural practices.
A just and sustainable food system:
- protects and replenishes the land which produces the food;
- supports the local economy through local production, processing and distribution;
- demands that everyone has access, not just to adequate nutrition, but to food that is personally and culturally appropriate;
- empowers communities through self-reliance, and gives them increased food system security;
- increases environmental health because of reduced transportation of food; and
- enhances community well-being through increased health and decreased illnesses.
Principle Aims of Organic
What is Certification?
Why Support Transitional?
Demystifying Organics
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